More than a duty
by passionateinterest
Summary: Before dying, Minato asks Kakashi to look after his son. What happens when Kakashi's duty feels less and less like one but more and more like something deeper than that? Will he let himself fall in love for the adorable growing blond? KakaNaru and other pairings Rated M for later chaps. A bit OC, M-preg
1. Minato's last wish

The battle raged outside the village, you could hear the sound of explosions and the roaring of the fox demon, as all the Konoha shinobis were trying to stop the beast from approaching any further from their village. Everyone was outside, fighting to protect his or her family and friends. It was already nighttime everyone has been fighting for hours now, the sky was of a dark red color, like all the blood that has been and was still being versed made it turn this color. Standing on top of Konoha's mountain, Minato looked at the sky with sadness. He usually quite liked the color red, hence the reason why he has some red flames on his coat, but tonight this color has never looked more dreadful and unwelcome.

Back at the village, in a small house was a woman with long red hair lying on a bed with medic-nins surrounding her. She was looking in severe pain and was gripping the bed sheets so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"Alright Kushina, you are doing well." One of the medic-nins says in encouragement, "We are almost there. I'll need you to push as hard as you can at my signal ok?"

"Where is Minato? Where is my husband?" she asks weakly, looking desperately around the room trying to find the man she loves, wanting him to be on her side, comforting her and telling her that everything would be alright.

"He is outside trying to make sure that nothing happens to you or the baby." The medic-nin answers softly trying to sooth the woman's worries, "Don't worry he'll be fine and he'll come as soon as he's finished. Now I need you to focus on making sure that your baby comes into this world without trouble alright? Your baby needs you right now."

Kushina responds with a nod, gritting her in concentration.

"You ready? Okay now push!" the medic-nin tells her.

Pushing with all her might, Kushina slumps back down on the bed, panting heavily, beads of sweat rolling profusely down her beautiful face, looking exhausted.

"Okay now I know you must be really tired, but I need you to push one last time do you think you can do that?" medic-nin asks her in a gentle voice, mopping her forehead covered in sweat.

"Y-yes." Kushina says propping herself on her elbows wincing but having on her face a look of determination to bring her boy into this world.

Gathering the remnants of her strength, Kushina pushes one last time as hard as she can before once again collapsing on the bed, completely drained out. In a semi-haze she hears cries, the cries of her baby, breathing and screaming at the top of his lungs, full of energy. With a weak smile and tears in her eyes, she takes him from the medic-nin, cradling the infant in her arms carefully.

"Hello Naruto." Kushina whispers lovingly while letting a few tears of joy rolling, putting lightly her lips on his forehead before closing her eyes one last time.

Back on the battlefield, Minato was trying to find a way to vanquish the monster currently destroying more and more lives in front of him. He calls Kakashi to come to him, wanting to know what his former student thought. As the younger shinobi appears next to him, he greets him with a brief nod of his head.

"How are things going down there?" he asks tense, hoping that it wasn't as bad as he was seeing it to be.

"Not well Hokage-sama." Kakashi answers looking in front of him gravely, "A lot of shinobis have fallen but we are doing our best to keep the demon away."

"I feel so helpless I don't know what to do to stop this nightmare." The older shinobi says in a worn out sigh, closing his eyes for a moment, thinking about his wife that according to the last news he'd had was going into labor and he can't even be there to support her.

Suddenly, a shinobi appears in front of him.

"Hokage-sama I'm here to report a terrible news…" the shinobi says bowing his head low in sadness and fear of what the reaction of the Yondaime will be, "Your wife Kushina died while giving birth to your son."

At hearing this, Minato froze. How could have this happened? Kushina, one of the strongest women he has ever known, was dead. What cruel joke from fate was that? What would happen to his child if his mother and maybe he himself are not going to be there for him? He was prepared to die for the village, because he'd thought Kushina would still be alive to raise their child and protect him, but now… What was he to do now that if he was to sacrifice himself that would mean making his boy, that hasn't even lived for a whole day yet, an orphan. He couldn't make himself do that to that poor little being who hasn't asked for this. But then who is going to get rid of the Kyubi? Who's going to keep the village safe? Conflicted with the choice he has to make, Minato bits his lip really hard, drawing blood out of it, trying to find a way to save the village while keeping his son safe as well. Then a crazy idea goes through his mind. Making his mind, Minato looks at Kakashi and the other shinobi that are in front of him with a newfound determination, though if you looked deep into his eyes, you could sadness and sorrow there at the prospect at what he was about to do.

"Lead me to her and my son," he tells the still bowing shinobi before turning toward Kakashi, who was looking at him with compassion, "Kakashi can you come with me please?"

The young ANBU nods affirmatively and they begin to run and hop from tree to tree at full speed toward the little house where Kushina and their son is. When they arrive Minato goes first into the room where his wife lies peacefully as if she had gone without trouble, though you could see a lost tear on her cheek, proof that she had cried before passing away. Looking at the corpse of his dead wife, he can't help but let a few tears escape his eyes. He walks and kneels next to her, he then places a loving kiss on her forehead bidding her goodbye, and telling her that he'll meet her again on the other side. After that he stands up and walks determinedly in the other room where his son was. When he enters the room he sees a nurse holding a little bundle of sheets in where was a little blond newborn. As he takes the little being into his arms, he smiles sadly at seeing the peaceful face of the sleeping infant, like he had not a care in the world. For a moment, Minato hated himself for what he was about to do. After looking for a moment at the sleeping baby, he then turns toward the nurse.

"I want the head of the medic-nins and two strong shinobis to come here as soon as possible." He tells the nurse sternly, living no room for argument.

"Sensei," Kakashi calls tentatively while the nurse ran out of the room to find the men he wanted, "what are you trying to do?"

"Konoha is in danger," the Yondaime begins in a low voice, suddenly feeling really old and tired, "we need to protect it and the children that live in it, by doing that I'm going to assure a safe life to my son as well."

Confused by those words, but not wanting to push the already grief striken man further, Kakashi stays quiet just watching his former sensei holding the baby close to his heart as if he was going to lose him at any moment.

"What did you want us for Hokage-sama?" the head chef medic-nin asks as he and two other shinobis come inside the room.

"I need you for a sealing." Minato tells them in a firmer voice than he had felt capable of.

"What kind of sealing?" one of the two shinobis asks.

"I would like you to help me transfer the Kyubi into my son's body." He tells them.

"B-but Hokage-sama this is madness, how can you want us to do that?" the medic-nin asks his eyes wide.

"This is the only way to save the village!" he tells them in an authoritarian manner, his voice getting louder with anger.

"B-but this is your own child…" the medic-nin protests weakly.

"Do you think I don't know it! Do you think it makes me happy to have to do this!" Minato explodes roaring at the now scared shinobis, "Believe me, if I didn't have this feeling of duty to save Konoha, I would just take my son with me and run as far away as possible! I-I…"

Then Minato, trembling with all the pent up emotions inside him falls on his knees, still cradling carefully the infant in his arms, and begins to cry, crying for his dead wife, crying for not being stronger and not being able to protect everyone, and most of all crying for his son that he'll never get to know, and see him grow into a man. Kakashi watches the heartbreaking sight of his sensei crying, and ready to sacrifice his own son and himself to save Konoha. Though he couldn't say he was entirely happy about what his mentor was about to do by sealing the fox demon into the child, he also understood the motives behind this action. Putting a demon with such a powerful chakra into this boy was like giving him one of the best protections ever. It would give the child a great amount of powers and though it might be a bit dangerous, he would never be hurt by the fox demon, since the demon would never try to hurt his vessel. As Kakashi thinks about the pros and cons of his sensei's choice, he sees Minato slowly rise up, having apparently taken back control of himself.

"So are you going to help me or not?" he asks, a hint of desperation showing in his voice.

The medic-nin and the two shinobis look at each other as in asking silently what each of them thought, then they turned back their head toward Minato and the medic-nin spoke for the three of them.

"Yes we'll do it." The medic-nin says in a low but clear voice.

With a small relieved, but still sad, smile, Minato scoops his boy in one arm and puts a pillow down with the other, putting the baby on it and draws a circle around it.

"Put six candles around him, on the circle." He orders to the shinobis.

While the others do as he said, he kneels in front of his son, and bites his thumb hard enough to draw blood and traces a complicated sealing pattern and ancient inscriptions on the belly of the child.

"I'm sorry Naruto." Minato says in a trembling voice, biting his lip, leans in to kiss the baby on his forehead and tells him before getting up, "I love you."

At this action the baby wakes up and begins to wail. Minato leaves the room quickly, knowing that if he were to turn around now he would never have the strength to go through with his plan. Followed closely by Kakashi, he walks outside and begins to run until he is quite close to the fox demon. He then does the invocation hand signs, and Gamabunta appears in a puff of smoke.

"Hello Gamabunta." Minato greets the chief of the toads with a grave face, "I need your help."

"Hello gaki. What can I do for you?" Gamabunta asks, concerned by the face the usually easy going and nice man was having right now.

"We need to go confront the Kyubi. I need to get close to him to seal him away." Minato explains.

"Okay climb on me." The toad chief says with a stern look.

Minato jumps on top of his head, and then they advance slowly toward the demon.

"We are close enough now." Minato tells him after a moment, "You can stop here."

"Alright gaki." Gamabunta says, "Concentrate while I get the attention of this fox."

Minato gets into a stance and begins to perform really quickly series of hand signs, a bright blue light begins to surround him, expanding more and more. Suddenly the light becomes extremely bright and explodes, blinding everyone in the area for a moment, and all everyone can hear is a very loud and terrifying angry roar from the Kyubi. When the light recesses, the fox demon is nowhere to be seen. Kakashi instantly look in the direction where his former sensei is, he sees him wobbling dangerously. He runs to him and arrives in time to catch him in his arms when he collapses.

"Sensei..." Kakashi says unable to utter anything else while he watches the man he admires die.

"Kakashi," Minato begins to say, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it sensei?" Kakashi asks, his voice showing emotions, revealing sadness for the first time since Obito died.

"I want you to take care of Naruto. Please look after my little boy." He says looking straight at Kakashi , with tears in his eyes.

Kakashi's body gets tense for a minute but soon relaxes back a bit, and he looks back at Minato straight in the eyes.

"I'll do it. You have my word sensei." He promises, tightening his hold on him.

At hearing this, Minato smiles weakly and closes his eyes.

"Thank you." he says in a last breath, and goes limp in Kakashi's arms, leaving this world forever.

Kakashi stays like this for a few minutes, holding his former sensei's body against his chest.

"Gamabunta-san can you take us to Konoha please." Kakashi asks in whisper but is heard nonetheless.

"Sure, that's the least I can do for him now." The chief of the toads says with grief before moving toward the village.

When they arrive, the Sandaime, and the elders along with some shinobis are waiting for them.

"Kakashi what is going on?" Sarutobi asks with wide eyes at seeing Kakashi on the toad chief's head, but then he sees that he is holding someone in his arms, and murmurs, not believing that this is happening, "Minato…"

Kakashi jumps down from Gamabunta and walks toward Sarutobi and the elders.

"Sandaime, the Yondaime…" Kakashi starts but stops himself when he sees the Sandaime raise his hand.

"Not here, come with me to the tower and explain everything to me there." Sarutobi says a stern and sad expression on his face.

"We're coming too Sarutobi." The elders intervene.

"I think it would be best if Kakashi first explained to me in private and…" Sarutobi begins but gets interrupted by one of the elders.

"This is a village matter, we're going to be there whether you like it or not."

Sarutobi sighs tiredly and makes a sign at Kakashi to follow him after he gave Minato's corpse to a shinobi. When they finally arrive at the tower, Sarutobi leads them to the Hokage's office and closes the door behind them.

"Now Kakashi, tell me everything from the beginning." He says inviting the young ANBU to sit down.

Then Kakashi tells them all about the news about Kushina's while delivering her baby, Minato's grief and his plan to save the village, by sacrificing himself, and how it had involved his own baby boy, on whom he had sealed the Kyubi, and also about his sensei's last wish.

At those news, Sarutobi looks shocked at Kakashi, slowly digesting everything he has heard in the last hour. After a moment he pulls himself together and look at the shinobi in front of him, who though he didn't let anything transpire, he knew was suffering from the loss of his former sensei, who had been like friend and a father figure to him.

"So Minato gave you the custody of his child uh?" he asks linking his hands together, putting his chin on top of them.

"He asked me to look after Naruto yes." Kakashi answers, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

He wasn't really a sociable kind of guy. At 14 years old, he didn't even have one true friend. Obito, Rin…all his true friends died years ago because of the Great Shinobi War. He was still so young, and yet already so mature for his age because of the childhood he never really had. He didn't really know how having to take care of a child was going to be, and to be honest he didn't know if he was up to this task. But this has been the final wish of Minato and he sure as hell was not going to fail his shishou on this. Screw the fact that he's not even an adult yet, he's been living on his own for years now and he knew how to take care of himself. He knew how it felt to not have family to rely on. He'll make sure to provide to the poor orphan as much protection as possible.

"Naruto?" Sarutobi asks an eyebrow rose in surprise.

"That's the name that Minato and his wife chose for their son." Kakashi explains.

"Hmm very well, I guess all we can do is help you as much as we can with raising Naruto and…" the Sandaime begins but gets interrupted brutally by the elders.

"Sarutobi you can't be serious! This young man isn't fit to take care of a child!" one of them protests.

"Oh really? And where would you put the child then?" Sarutobi asks annoyed by how those old coots were always trying to have their way, regardless of other people's feelings.

"Now that he has become the host of the fox demon, we have to put him under the surveillance of the ANBU until he is old enough to not need someone to babysit him." The other elder says.

"Under surveillance! Do you listen to yourself! He's only a baby! What he needs is care and love, not being treated like some curious animal that might be dangerous!" Sarutobi explodes not believing the way the little baby who hasn't lived an entire day yet was already treated.

"He needs protection Sarutobi…" the other elder says.

"Protection for who? Himself or the village?" the old man sneers and then looks at them with narrowed eyes making the elders take a step back, " Now you listen to me. Kakashi is more than qualified for this post. He will be the one to take care of the child and that's final. Since he is part of the ANBU, when he is in public with Naruto, he'll still have to wear the ANBU mask and outfit, but when they are in the intimacy of his house, he will wear whatever pleases him are we clear? This child has a right to live a normal life as well as to know who is raising him."

Finishing his long speech, the old hokage takes a deep intake of air, calming himself down.

"What about neighbors? People will ask questions about why he has now an infant living with him." One of the elders argue.

"As I said before we'll help and provide Kakashi with everything he'll need, and that includes a bigger house for him and the baby, away from the prying eyes." Sarutobi says and adds to prevent the elders from arguing more, "As for the neighbors and people in general are concerned, I know that by now a lot of shinobis know of what Minato has done, though I don't think they realize that it was on his own son. The news will spread very fast. So to prevent too much hatred from the village toward the child, I'll make a decree to the village that no one is to speak about the Kyubi nor to tell their children or Naruto for that matter that he is the jinchuriki of the nine tails demon. Anyone who'll fail to follow this rule will be severely punished."

With a resigned and angry look on their face, the elders leave the room very quickly. Kakashi who had watched the exchange, never felt more thankful for the old hokage. For a moment, a gripping fear had placed itself in his guts, a fear of not being allowed to respect his sensei's wish. He had had anger building up slowly in him at hearing those old fools, blabbering about what should be done like he wasn't in the room or like the last wish of the man who just sacrificed himself for this village didn't matter at all. Grateful to him, he looks at Sarutobi wanting to say thank you but not finding the strength to do so. Heaving a sigh and after closing his eyes for a moment, making him look extremely old at the moment, Sarutobi calls an ANBU member in and gives him instructions that Kakashi didn't manage to hear, and then turns to the young shinobi with a small smile on his face.

"It's now time for you to meet your new responsibility." The Sandaime tells him in what was meant a light tone, but you could hear the weariness in it.

Soon after, a nurse enters the room with sleeping form in her arms. With a positive nod from the Sandaime she approaches Kakashi to let him have a look at the peacefully sleeping baby. Looking at his sleeping angel face, the air gets caught in his throat and he feels tears threatening to spill. Hesitantly he extends his arms asking permission to hold the little being in his arms. The nurse looks at his bloodied state, unsure for a moment what to do, but then puts carefully the baby in his arms showing him how to hold him. Feeling that he is not held by the same person anymore, the little infant slightly opens his eyes, revealing a pair of beautiful baby blue eyes, and grabs with surprising strength one of Kakashi's fingers from the hand with which he was gently stroking the blond hair sticking out on the infant's head. At this moment, Kakashi feels a strong sense of protectiveness over the little boy going through him, a surge to make sure nothing will ever hurt the little being that he was already holding dear to his heart. Internally, he swore to any gods or upper forces that he would protect this child with his life. While doing this, a teardrop escaped his right eye, rolling down on his cheek, while he smiled at the little baby in his arms that was already becoming a part of his life.

_**TBC**_

_**Here is my first story on the Naruto universe. I hope you liked this little prologue and that it made you want to read more.  
**_


	2. A new home, a new life

**Wow, I want to thank everyone for the reviews you have left and to have put this story in your alerts and favorites. It really makes me happy to see that you guys like it. I hope to see more of them. :) Sorry it took me so long to update this second chapter and that it is shorter than the previous one. Enjoy!**

Kakashi was lying on his hospital bed, looking out the window, deep in thought, at the sun rising over Konoha. After talking with the Sandaime about his new living arrangements and the new life that was going to be his from now on, he had been ordered to go to the hospital to get his wounds tended and rest. He had tried to protest, saying that his wounds were nothing and that other people were in greater need of medical attention than him, but the old hokage didn't want to hear a thing and told him that there was no way he was going back to his apartment and stay alone. Sighing heavily, Kakashi rests his head up on his pillow, staring at the ceiling like it held some answers for him. It had been decided that he would raise Naruto in a small house in the outskirt of the village, not far from the forest of Konoha. Though he will still be a member of the ANBU, he will now only be assigned easy missions that last one day at the most. Then there was all the baby stuff. Wanting to let him some time to get acquainted with the little being and to learn all the things there is to know about taking care of a baby, the hokage has decided to give Kakashi a 4 months vacation. Though he understood why the hokage had done this, Kakashi was not really happy about that. He had never stayed inactive except for the times he is confined in bed at the hospital for coming back from a mission all beaten and injured. The fact that he would have a nurse during the first month living with him to teach and help him taking proper care of Naruto was not helping, even though he had to admit that he would need all the help he can get, having people help him had never been something he enjoys since it means admitting to have a weakness in something. But to be honest he was most of all nervous about having now an baby in his life. What if he wasn't up to the task? Every body says that he is a genius, but does it enable him to take care of a baby properly? Maybe the child won't like him. What if he did something wrong and the council took advantage of this to remove Naruto from his custody? All those questions, all those uncertainties were swimming in his head like dark clouds making him feel unsure and sad.

'No!' Kakashi thinks shaking himself mentally, 'I need to stop thinking like this! I've already made up my mind. This kid needs me. He has no family anymore. I promised Minato. I swore I would do everything in my power to protect him and that's exactly what I'm going to do!'

While he was reprimanding himself for the doubts he was having, a nurse came in with a food platter. With a grimace hidden by his mask, Kakashi looks at his meal that looked nothing but appetizing.

"I see you still haven't gotten used to hospital food." He hears a medic-nin say from the door of his room with an amused smile on his face.

"Ah sorry doctor I hadn't heard you arrive. Come in." Kakashi says sitting a bit more upright.

"Please call me Iyashi." The medic-nin tells him with a smile, "You have ended up at the hospital, and I had to heal you so many times that I think it's ok for us to call each other by our respective names."

"Alright Iyashi-san." Kakashi replies with a slight smile, "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing." Iyashi says, his expression immediately turning serious.

"I'm doing fine, I have just minor injuries." Kakashi answers.

"I meant mentally. How are you coping with all this?" the medic-nin asks, a concerned frown on his face.

"Oh…well I'm doing okay." The young shinobi replies his face fixed in a stoic mask, "The death of the Yondaime is still…I mean it's hard to think that he's really dead and...I made a promise to him to take care of his child…"

"Ah yes I heard about this. Poor child. Losing both of his parents when he's just been born." Iyashi says in a sad sigh, "I heard he shinobis and the medic-nin, that were present and helped the Yondaime into doing the sealing, have been put under the vow of secrecy."

"Kakashi," He then adds looking at Kakashi with a half stern, half pleading look on his face, "if there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to say so. I know your pride often stops you from asking for help, but you have to consider the well being of a child now. So please if you need help or just someone to talk to don't let your pride prevent you from asking me or anyone else some help."

After staring intently at Iyashi for a moment, pondering in his head at what the medic-nin had just said, Kakashi nods solemnly in understanding.

"You have my word that I won't let my pride interfere in the well being of this child." He tells the medic-nin whose shoulders seem to relax at his words.

"Good." Iyashi says with a soft smile.

"Hum do you know if I could see Naruto now?" Kakashi asks softly looking hesitant.

"Naruto?" the medic-nin repeats not understanding.

"This is the name his parents had chosen for him." The young shinobi explains, a hint of sadness passing through his open eye.

"Ooh…" Iyashi says in understanding then says with a smile, "Of course you can see him! He is in the nursery sleeping right now. We're keeping an eye on him to make sure everything is okay. I can take you there now if you want."

"Yes please." Kakashi says getting slowly to his feet, careful not to get up too fast to not feel dizzy.

When they arrive to the nursery, they go to the plate glass window where you could see about ten cribs with babies in them getting taken care by the nurses. Searching for Naruto with his eyes, Kakashi finds him in one of the middle cribs. He had three whiskers like mark on each cheek, courtesy of having the Kyubbi inside him, which made him quite recognizable. But the thing that stood out the most and made him stands out from the others was the fact that he had an orange blanket covering him. Looking quizzically at Iyashi, Kakashi raises an eyebrow, and the medic-nin gives him a grimace in return.

"We were out of clean blankets, so we hastily had to cut one into one of the hospital large covers we have for the beds." He explains quickly, "but when we tried to change it for a real blanket, he began to cry and wouldn't let go of it."

Kakashi turns his face toward the infant sleeping in his crib and sees that as Iyashi said, the little boy was gripping tightly the hideous orange blanket in his tiny little fists like daring anyone from taking it away from him. The young ANBU feels the corners of his mouth stretch in small, amused smirk.

"Lets just hope that it won't become his favorite color…" he says a hint of amusement showing in his voice, "This is really hurting my eyes. I don't know if I would be able to stand it."

"Well if I were you I wouldn't get my hopes too high on that." the medic-nin replies laughing then, "This little guy looks like he is going to be a lively one. You sure will have a lot on your hands in the next months."

"Iyashi-san," Kakashi says after a moment of silence, his head low, looking at the floor, and asks, "do you think I will be able to raise Naruto well?"

Surprised at hearing the small hint of doubt into Kakashi's voice, Iyashi looks silently at the young shinobi and then smiles and puts a hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll do well." He tells the ANBU, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly, "You might not be good at socializing with people, but I know by how you already worry about this little guy that you are going to manage just fine."

"I hope so." Kakashi says sighing.

"Come on lets get you back to your room so that you can rest." Iyashi says putting his hand on the shinobi's back inciting him to move away from the nursery, "You'll want all your strength back to take care of that little guy."

_Two days later while Kakashi was reading some ninjutsu's scrolls in his bed… _

Loud booming voices could be heard in the hall, interrupting Kakashi's peaceful lecture.

"Where is he?" the voice of a man could be heard, "Where is that beast?"

"Yeah! You can't protect it! It should be put to death!" another voice exclaimed.

Frowning, his forehead creased in worry at what could be happening, Kakashi gets out of his bed, putting on his ANBU mask, and grabs a kunai on his way out just in case. As he gets into the hall he can see a group of three men striding the hospital corridor with a nurse desperately trying to stop them.

"Gentlemen you cannot enter the hospital like that! There are ill people here!" she argues grabbing on one of the men's arm trying to stop him but gets shaken off roughly by said man.

"Quiet woman! Show us where the nursery is so that we can get rid of that monster." The man shouts.

Kakashi's eyes narrow at hearing them say this. So they are after Naruto... Anger begins to boil into Kakashi's veins. How dare those men come here to kill an innocent baby? What has this infant ever done to them? Are they so blind with hatred and resentment toward the Nine-Tail demon that they compare this poor little guy that has just lived for a few days, to this demonic beast that now lives inside of him? Seeing red, Kakashi dashes at those men quickly knocking them out on the floor. Now the men are on the floor looking up at the ANBU member, from which a terrifying dark aura comes out of him right now.

"Now what is all that ruckus about uh?" Kakashi asks in a chilling voice, looking at the bewildered men.

"W-we have t-to kill the beast that has destroyed our lives!" one of the men exclaims trying to sound hard but failing miserably.

"I think not. This child has nothing to do with your misery." The young ANBU replies crossing his arms on his chest.

"Y-you can't stop us! This is our right!" another one shouts but then flinch away when Kakashi sharply turns his head toward him.

Though his face is completely hidden under his ANBU mask, the cold, harsh stare and the menacing aura that he has, are coming out of him in violent waves, pinning the men in front of him in fear. Even the nurse who didn't have Kakashi's anger directed at her couldn't help but tremble a bit in fear.

"The fact that he has the Nine Tails demon inside of him doesn't give you the right to hurt him." Kakashi says his voice becoming even colder if possible, "Now I'll advise you to go back where you've come from and tell this to anyone who has in mind to hurt this child that the hokage has ordered the ANBU to punish anyone who tries to do what you were about to do."

Sure the hokage had never said anything of this sort, but Kakashi felt like the Sandaime wouldn't mind much if he said that in order to protect Naruto. Moreover when he will be reporting the Konoha citizens' behavior toward the little boy. As the men, terrified, run away from the hospital, Iyashi arrives running.

"Kakashi! What happened! I thought I heard shouts." The medic-nin says alarmed.

"Some men arrived here with the intent to kill Naruto." Kakashi says taking off his ANBU mask, feeling the small amount of energy he had managed to get back leave him and leans on Iyashi.

"What!" Iyashi exclaims looking worried and asks, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah they didn't manage to find him, I showed up in time," Kakashi says, "I need to see the hokage as soon as possible, could you bring him here for me please?"

"Sure," Iyashi tells him, "Let me get you back to your bed and I'll go explain him the situation and ask him to come here."

"Thank you." Kakashi says as he settles back in his bed and closes his eyes intending to rest for a moment while waiting for the hokage to come.

An hour later, Kakashi hears the door of his room slide open and opens his eyes to see the Sandaime coming in.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi greets with a nod.

"Kakashi, I heard that you wanted to speak to me." The old hokage says.

"Yes," Kakashi says looking straight at the Sandaime, "I'm sure you have heard of what has happened earlier today."

"Yes, I've been informed that you have stopped a group of men from hurting Naruto." The old man says in a calm tone.

"I know I shouldn't have let my feelings overpower me and use your name like this but…" Kakashi begins but gets interrupted by the Sandaime.

"No need for apologies my boy," the old hokage says in a gentle tone, offering a reassuring smile, "I understand how you must have felt at this moment and you have nothing to reproach yourself for. As for using my name to prevent anyone from hurting this boy in the future, if you hadn't done it I would have done it sooner or later."

"How can people be so cruel?" Kakashi asks, more to himself than anybody else, in a whisper.

"Most of the time, people become aggressive against what scares them and what they can't understand." Sandaime says in a sigh, sitting on a chair next to Kakashi, "Though now no one will dare hurt the child in fear to be punished, they'll despise and seclude him away from their life. I just hope that one day the people will realize that he isn't the demon himself and that he is a human being as they all are."

"It is so unfair that he has to go through this alone." Kakashi says softly.

"But he won't be alone." The old hokage replies in a soft smile, "He will have you Kakashi. You will be the one to help him through this, show him that there are people that care about him."

Kakashi then looks at the Sandaime, his face unreadable until it breaks into a small genuine smile that you can see through his facial mask.

Two weeks later, it was decided that Kakashi was well enough to leave the hospital and go back home. The Sandaime had of course already prepared everything in the new house that Kakashi would now live in with the baby. In those two weeks, Kakashi had seen Naruto five times and was astonished at how the little boy had already grown so much. His eyes were fully open now and were of a shocking baby blue color, looking with curiosity at everything they set their sight on. He was particularly interested on Kakashi's mask and had tried to grab it several times during the few times that Kakashi held him. It was all still very new for Kakashi but he felt like he was getting pretty used and comfortable to hold the toddler in his arms. He had even fed him a few times, getting corrected from time to time by the nurse on how to hold the feeding bottle and the inclination that it should have.

When they arrive at their new house, Kakashi stops for a moment to look at the whole exterior of the house. It was a quite lovely house, definitely bigger than his apartment but not by much. It had a small garden, and the forest of Konoha could be seen a few meters away behind. As they enter the house, they see a small corridor that leads them to a room with on their left the kitchen along with a dining room, and on their right a living room where a comfy looking couch and TV stood. In front of them was stairs that led to Kakashi's bedroom and the baby's bedroom, as well as a bathroom. The whole house was already equipped. All of the furniture and Naruto's affairs were already there. The Sandaime had already taken care of providing Kakashi with everything he needed for Naruto's welfare, so the only luggage that they had with them was Kakashi's personal belongings, which didn't consist of much.

Kakashi puts down his bag, and picks the awaking baby, from his baby carriage, up in his arms.

"Welcome to our new home Naruto." Kakashi says smiling fondly at the baby looking at his new surroundings with great curious eyes.

_**TBC**_


	3. A different sort of training

The next morning, when Kakashi woke up, it took him a moment to remember where he was. Getting out of bed, he opens his window to aerate the room and puts a sweatshirt on, protecting himself from the cool morning air. Then he decides to go see Naruto, in the room prepared specifically for the child, and finds the infant still asleep in the crib that had been prepared for their arrival. Watching at Naruto over the crib Kakashi observes the sleeping baby with curiosity. The boy was sleeping on his back, in the same position that Kakashi had put him in, which, after Kakashi paused to think about it is pretty obvious, since he's too young yet to be able to move and hold his body. His tiny arms were lying on each side of his head, his face looked so serene, the young shinobi couldn't help but envy the complete innocence of the child. This little guy who knows nothing about the dangers and viciousness of this world. Then the baby began to fuss and started to open his bright blue eyes. Blinking a few times the infant just stared at Kakashi for a while, and the young ANBU stared back at him. Suddenly Naruto begins to whimper and then those whimpers turned into wails. Alarmed Kakashi quickly picks him up and begins to rock him back in forth, trying to calm him down.

"Shh, shh, don't cry." He says desperately.

Panicking a bit about what could have possibly made this child start to cry when not two minutes before he looked actually calm. Walking around, bouncing slightly in his arms the crying baby, Kakashi racks his brain to find what could be wrong as someone knocks on the door. Managing to open the door, he sees a young woman in her early thirties, standing there looking at him before throwing a concerned glance at the wailing baby.

"Hello my name is Inari Okami." The woman says over the wails, "I'm the appointed nurse to help you during the following two months."

"I'm sorry I don't think I've caught the last part." Kakashi says having a hard time hearing her with Naruto's whimperings.

He sees her holding up a finger asking him to wait a moment, and begins to go through a big bag hanging on her shoulder and takes out a feeding-bottle filled with what looked to be milk and hands it to him.

"Here give him this." she tells him mimicking the action of feeding to be better understood.

Looking suspiciously at the feeding bottle, Kakashi hesitates to trust this woman. After all he doesn't know her. Looking intently at her, trying to gauge this woman, he sees her rolling her eyes as she realizes what he is doing.

"I haven't poisoned it. It's just plain milk for the little guy. Hurry up he looks famished." She says louder for him to understand what she is saying, looking like she is getting impatient.

Looking at her warily one more time, Kakashi puts the feeding bottle's pacifier into Naruto's mouth, efficiently stopping his cries as he enthusiastically drinks the milk inside of it. Watching the toddler hungrily sucking on the feeding bottle, Kakashi felt relieved though a bit stupid for not thinking that the kid might have just been hungry. Why did he not think of this? A shinobi keeps his head cool in any circumstances. He shouldn't have reacted like that at the baby's cries.

'Well what is done is done, no need to go on and on about it now. I'll just make sure in the future to stay calm and patiently try to discover what the problem is.' Kakashi says to himself mentally before raising his head toward the smug looking nurse.

"Thank you Okami-san." Kakashi says bowing his head.

"Please call me Inari." the nurse replies with a smile.

"Alright Okami...hum Inari-san, could you tell me why you are here?" Kakashi asks.

"As I said before, I'm the appointed nurse to help you through the first two months, and to teach you how to take care of a child." She explains to him sounding a bit impatient.

"I didn't know the hokage had appointed someone to help me but I'm sure this measure is not necessary. I think I can manage by myself." Kakashi says frowning a bit, feeling a bit disappointed that the hokage doubted him with properly taking care of Naruto.

"No offense but what happened just now proves the exact opposite of what you just said." Inari says with a snicker.

Ashamed Kakashi looks down at the floor.

"You know, there is nothing shameful at getting helped by people from time to time." She adds in a softer tone, before wiggling impatiently on her spot making a weird face and saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll allow myself in, since you don't seem to want to invite me in yourself. It's been long walk to here and I really need to go to the bathroom."

Walking past him, she quickly put her luggage down in the living room and runs to the bathroom. Three minutes later she's back in the living room, Kakashi, sitting on the couch, still feeding Naruto.

"Ah I feel much better now!" she exclaims sighing contentedly, sitting next to the shinobi.

"So how is it going to be from now on?" Kakashi asks her.

"What do you mean?" she asks with a slight frown.

"I mean, what is going to happen now?" Kakashi says, putting the now empty feeding bottle on the coffee table and making the toddler lean on his shoulder to tap on his back to make him let out a belch.

"Well apparently you already have the feeding part done pretty well. The way you hold him is a bit tense but I guess you will relax more and more as you get used to have him in your arms." She begins with a small smile, "Apart from showing you how to shower, and change him, I think the only thing I'll be able to provide you with, is mental support."

"Maybe I'll be able to stop you from freaking out." She adds after a moment, with a cheeky smile, winking at him.

Trying to restrain himself from pouting, Kakashi turned quickly his head to hide his embarrassment.

"I'll show you where your room is." He says, his face not showing any emotion, as he stands up and begins to walk upstairs with Naruto now sleeping in his arms.

"Thank you Kakashi-kun." Inari drawls smirking, following him.

Feeling a little annoyed at the suffix that she used, Kakashi felt that this was only a beginning. This woman has apparently decided to try to irk him, and tease him during all the time she will stay here. Not giving out any emotion from his face, Kakashi kept on walking up the stairs. Sighing internally, he thought that these two months were going to be really long.

_Two weeks later…_

"Would you come back here immediately! You will need to do it one day or another!" Inari exclaims exasperated, standing next to changing table with a fussing Naruto on it, having only a diaper on and Kakashi keeping a safe distance away from her and the changing table.

"I'm not coming near to that puking, pooping machine, it smells really bad." The young shinobi replies, frowning warily at the diaper around the toddler's hips.

"Oh come on! It happened once," Inari says rolling her eyes, then adds with an eyebrow raised in a scolding manner, "and if you recall I had warned you that you should wear a towel on your shoulder when you make him do his belch. Now you need to come here so that you can learn how to change him."

"But this is disgusting!" the young ANBU whines scrunching his nose in disgust.

In just one week, Kakashi had opened up a little to Inari. She had managed to make him feel at ease with her, supporting him patiently through every new ordeal that showed up with Naruto. Every time Naruto had cried or had had a slight problem, she had been there to help him deal with it. A friendship had formed between them, Inari having fun teasing Kakashi, and the latter having a hard time to not react to her taunts. He had a hard time showing no emotions with her always irking him in every way possible. Though he would never admit it, having Inari living with him had changed him. He no longer had this cold, emotionless demeanor all the time. He could show sometimes, under the secrecy of his house, a nice and witty attitude. Sure he still kept sometimes this cool distance in self-preservation, trying to keep his feelings hidden. But with Inari, it was pretty hard to keep himself from not reacting, and hide his feelings. Even when he thought he had succeeded to hide them, Inari always seemed to manage to dig his fears and other deepest feelings out in the surface. She was quite a genius herself. In only a week, she had managed to see through him, and force herself in becoming a friend to him. However, even though they might have bonded a bit as friends, they still bickered like cat and dog over every little thing from time to time.

"There is no way I'm letting you get away from this." Inari tells him, hands on her hips, looking determined, then says in a threatening scowl, "Now get your lazy butt here before I come drag you here myself. I might not be Tsunade-sama but I have enough strength to do this."

Returning her a scowl of his own, Kakashi approached slowly to the changing table, where Naruto was getting more and more impatient.

"Alright I'll do it, but I warn you that if I receive one more time pee on me by this brat like the last time, I'm going to make sure you get some splash on you too." the young shinobi says as he arrives next to her sulking, then sighs and asks, "So, what do I need to do?"

Grinning in victory, Inari began to show him how to clean Naruto and correctly change his diaper. After having done changing him, Inari picked Naruto up and handed him to Kakashi.

"See not so hard." She says grinning widely.

"Hm. Thank you for showing me how to do it." Kakashi says reluctantly thanking her, looking down on the floor scowling, before getting his attention diverted toward a certain little guy blabbering to attract the attention to him.

Naruto began to coo happily instantly when Kakashi looks at him. Looking at him, Kakashi can't help but smile at him, seeing him so lively and happy. The young ANBU member realized that he would always smile when looking at Naruto, it was like this infant was a ray of sunshine that made him feel warm inside every time he was with him. Inari looked at him, an amused glint in her eyes, liking how much progress Kakashi had done not only with taking care of Naruto but also with showing his feelings and allowing himself to warm up to others, though right now the 'others' consisted of her and Naruto. When she had seen him the first time, she had been sad to see such a young man already mentally, as well as physically, marred with scars from the past. Now she couldn't help but hope that thanks to her he would be able to show more humanity without feeling exposed nor weak.

'He might be a genius, but when it comes to human relations he doesn't know much.' She thinks with a smirk.

Thinking back at their first week living together, she remembered what their first argument had been for.

_Flashback_

Inari was downstairs in the kitchen, washing up the dishes after having chased Kakashi out of it, telling him that for once she would be the one doing the dishes. Suddenly she heard a heavy thud coming from upstairs. Worried, she went upstairs to find seven dogs, of different sizes, standing in front of Kakashi who is holding a scroll in both his hands.

"What is going on here?" she asks trying to stay calm as she raises an eyebrow in question.

"I called them here so that they can get familiar with Naruto's scent." Kakashi explains looking at her like it was obvious.

"Those dogs can't approach him, it's unsanitary." Inari replies crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry Inari-san those dogs lick themselves clean everyday." Kakashi says trying to reassure her.

Suppressing a shudder of disgust, she takes a deep breath before looking at him straight in the eyes.

"That is not the problem here Kakashi-kun." She tells him, "Even if they keep themselves clean, they still have bacteria that Naruto's body can't deal with yet."

"But they are not going to touch him, they'll just smell him so that they can register in their mind his scent." Kakashi argues frowning.

"Kakashi I don't care if they are not touching him. I don't want them near him!" Inari exclaims pinching the bridge of her nose, beginning to feel annoyed.

"Oh come on you can't tell me that they can't smell him if they don't touch him!" Kakashi says his tone of voice getting a bit higher with anger.

"Yes I can, and I am!" Inari replies her own voice getting louder, "Has it ever occurred to you that them breathing against him, as they smell him, will be the same as touching him, by sending miasmas all over him."

Kakashi was about to reply but before he could, the smallest dog walks up to Inari.

"Sorry to interrupt your argument but why don't you just give us something with the pup scent on it so that we can smell it?" the said dog asks Inari.

"Huh…nin-dogs." Inari looks at the dog thoughtfully then says, "I think this is a good compromise. I'm Inari. What is your name?"

"Pakkun." The small dog answers, "Pleased to meet you Inari-san. Boss told us we now had to consider the pup a member of our pack, and that we need to protect him."

"Well that's nice." Inari says with a smile.

She then went take one of the blankets she had used to wrap Naruto in, and handed it toward the dog-nins who began to sniff it. After they are done sniffing it, Inari put the blanket away.

"We are done." Pakkun states.

"When Naruto is a few months older you will be able to touch him and be near him in general. I'm sorry that you won't be able before but I hope you'll bear with it." Inari tells Pakkun and the rest of the dog-nins.

"We understand." Pakkun replies then turns toward Kakashi, "Well boss I think we'll go now."

"Okay Pakkun. Take care." Kakashi tells him.

"You too boss."Pakkun replies before disappearing in a puff with the other dog-nins.

When the dog-nins have disappeared, Inari turned toward Kakashi.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-kun for reacting like that but" she begins to say, then with a sigh she says, "you are one stubborn brat."

"I apologize too for my behavior." Kakashi apologizes with a bow.

_End of flashback_

It was now the evening, and everything was calm in the little house. Kakashi and Inari were sitting in the living room, Naruto in Kakashi's arms, slowly dozing off.

"You can stay here and relax Inari-san, I'll put Naruto to bed." Kakashi tells the nurse standing carefully up to not wake Naruto up.

As he enters the little bedroom, Kakashi walked to the crib without putting the lights on, and put slowly the sleeping baby in it. The young shinobi watched him sleeping for a moment, watching how his head turned on one side, his little chubby arms on each side of it. Looking at him sleeping so profoundly, the young ANBU member can't help but envy the little guy for having no worries in the world, and he felt he wanted it to stay like this.

"Sweet dreams Naruto." He whispers softly before leaving the bedroom, praying internally to not be woken up during the night by the little devil.

Two days later, it was morning, and Kakashi was in automatic mode, fixing something for himself in the kitchen, after having not slept more than two hours per night for the past two days.

"Kakashi-kun I have to do some errands, because Kami knows that if I'd let you do, you would only live on junk food." Inari says in a chuckle as she passes next to the door "Is there something specific you'd like me to buy?"

"No thank you." Kakashi answers in an exhausted voice, stifling a yawn.

"Are you ok?" Inari asks concerned.

"I am, it's just that Naruto has been keeping up all night for those past two days." Kakashi says barely avoiding from spreading butter on an apple and putting orange juice in a bowl already full with milk.

"Really? I hadn't heard him…" Inari says frowning, "Well go get some rest. Naruto is asleep right now, you need to take advantage of these moments to sleep too or else you'll never make it."

"Alright." Kakashi says turning around and goes lay on the couch, instantly falling asleep.

Not long after he has fallen asleep muffled whimpers woke him up, making him dash instantly to the bedroom where he finds an awake Naruto fussing.

"Shh there, there." He says soothingly picking him up from his crib.

After having checked if he needed to be changed and having fed him some milk, Kakashi was lying on the couch, his head on a pillow to raise his upper body a little, with Naruto lying stomach down on his chest. The baby had his head raised a bit looking at him curiously, his little eyelids fluttering like they were about to shut down.

This is how Inari found them an hour or two later, coming back her arms full of groceries. Wondering if Kakashi had slept a bit, she walked to the couch and found Kakashi sleeping soundly with Naruto sleeping as well on his chest, his arms wrapped securely, as to prevent any falls, around his little body. Smiling fondly at the scene in front of her, she walked soundlessly from the two and went to put away the food that she bought.

_TBC_

**Well that's it for this chapter I hope you liked it. I don't know why but I had a hard time doing this chapter because it's kind of a slow one, but I hope it wasn't a boring one. **


	4. Good and Bad Moments go Hand in Hand

**Phew…finally I got to update another chapter. I'm really, really, really sorry to not have updated in such a long time! Between my internship report and some other much I was busy with it's not before at least a month that I had some time for myself to write another chapter. On top of all this when I finally finished writing this chapter I went to edit it but I couldn't access it because of an intern problem in . Because of this problem I couldn't access any of my stories written in English (which is 99% of them) so I was really upset… but FINALLY! Finally I can edit my stories again! :D**

**Anyway sorry for the long message but I wanted you to understand the reason of this even bigger delay on my story that I apologize for. **

**Enjoy!**

It had been now a month since Inari had arrived into Kakashi and little Naruto's house and life, and though the young ANBU would rather bit his tongue than say this out loud, he had to admit that she had been really helpful at times.

Taking care of a baby had been the hardest training he had ever had. Even harder than the ANBU training, Kakashi had had his nerves put to the test when Naruto had learned that he had a voice and that he could use it to cry really loud. The little devil wanted constant attention on him, protesting loudly whenever he was put down and grabbing whatever he could reach with his little chubby hands. Kakashi had been impressed to see how much strength the toddler had. He couldn't help thinking that if he was to cultivate his strength throughout his growth, he could become one strong shinobi. Right now he was holding the little demon in his arms, rocking him back and forth, surrounded by his ninkens while sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Tadaima!" Inari said coming into the living room and plopping herself down next to Kakashi on the couch.

"Okaeri Inari-san." Kakashi said greeting her with a nod.

"Hello Doc." Pakkun greeted her from where he was lying against the side of his master, watching carefully the baby boy, who now that he was a bit older loved to grab and pull his ears.

"Hey Pakkun!" Inari greeted back, "Long time no see. How are you doing?"

"I'm well thanks. The pup was full of energy today." He told her patting softly his hurting ears with having been pulled quite hard all day.

"I'm sure he was." She replied laughing lightly, "So I take that Kakashi called you and the pack to do some babysitting?"

"Indeed he did." Pakkun said with a smirk knowing that Kakashi must feel embarrassed, judging from the slight pink tinge that you could see a little on the uncovered part of his cheeks.

It had taken some time for Inari to warm up to the pack, not because she didn't like dogs it was quite the contrary, but she had been afraid the dogs wouldn't know how to be careful around a baby. But after some time and a few talks with Pakkun, she had been impressed to see the ninkens being extremely careful and gentle with the little boy. She was now really comfortable with them being here since they apparently made Kakashi more at ease. She had her suspicions that the closest person Kakashi had ever had for a confident was Pakkun, and she accepted it though she thought it would also be good if Kakashi could find someone else to talk too. She really liked Pakkun but there were that much Pakkun could do for Kakashi. This boy also needed some human contact, only a human could understand some of the most complicated thoughts and feelings he had. Pakkun and herself, as well as the pack, had talked about this matter a few times, when Kakashi was outside, and Inari had been chosen to be the one to talk to him about this.

"Well hello you! How are you today? You look so cute in your orange jumper! Yes you do!" she said as she turned toward Naruto and began to coo and make silly faces at him.

At seeing the funny faces the nurse was making, the boy began to smile and coo back at her.

"Inari-san you really should stop acting like a child and act more like an adult." Kakashi said hesitating between rolling his eyes in exasperation or feeling amused at her antics with Naruto.

"And you should learn to loosen up a bit from time to time .." Inari replied saying his name in a drawl smirking roguishly.

When the only thing she got in response was a blank stare, Inari let out a sigh.

"Kakashi-kun, Kakashi-kun…" she said in a fake dramatic tone of voice shaking her head like how a parent would do when about to give a lecture, "I wonder if you really are a genius when you give me that blank expression when I talk to you about letting your emotions take over. I feel like I'm speaking a foreign language to you."

Once again her remark was met with silence. Getting exasperated at the lack response to her taunting, she looks at him straight in the eyes with a serious face.

"Kakashi," she began eliciting a slight reaction from him, by making him look attentively at her, surprise shining in his dark eyes, for not having used a suffix, " You are someone I really appreciate and I would love for us to be friends…"

At this moment, Kakashi interrupted her.

"I already consider as a friend Inari-san" he said seriously though you could see that letting that much of emotion show up was a great deal for him, "You have been…a bit…um well really helpful those last few weeks with teaching me things about babies. Moreover I've never…really talked as much as I have with anyone but you those last few weeks. "

"I'm happy you think like this." Inari told him smiling fondly then continued still with a soft voice, "You are a smart kid, maybe too smart for your own good, and you have a great heart. You have been through so much already in your life and yet you still took the responsibility to raise Naruto though you are still really young. But you still bottle up your emotions, not letting the slightest one escape you, I'm worried for you, and I hope you know that you can always come talk to me about anything that is on your mind."

She then adds, "Even if it is about the latest combat techniques."

At this she gave a little comical grimace to show the lack of interest she had in this subject.

"Arigato Inari-san." Kakashi said almost in a whisper clearing his voice, which was a bit husky with emotions.

"You don't have to thank me," she told him smiling, and adds with a gentle tap on his shoulder, "that's what friends are for."

At this moment, as Kakashi was about to say something else he feels Naruto, who had stayed surprisingly silent and calm for a long time, showing his annoyance at the lack of attention on him by beginning to squirm and whimper. As soon as Kakashi looked down at him, the little boy cooed happily showing his approval at being his center of attention once again.

"You are one demanding little guy." The young shinobi murmured with a small tender smile hidden by his mask, poking gently the toddler on the cheek with one of his fingers that the little demon reached for and quickly held on to it with one hand not wanting to let go.

As he began to suckle on the thumb of his other hand, his grip on Kakashi's finger loosened when he began to drift into unconsciousness while his eyelashes were batting really quickly as if trying to keep him awake.

"Looks like it's time to put the little guy to sleep." Inari said smiling.

The ANBU member nodded and turned to walk the stairs toward Naruto's bedroom. As he put him into his crib, Kakashi leans over it a bit, watching the toddler sleep peacefully. It was one thing he liked to do, watching him sleep with his features so smooth and relaxed. It was the most soothing thing Kakashi had ever seen: watching his beautiful angel face sleep, his blond hair forming a halo around his small head.

"Sweet dreams." He said, stroking lightly with the back of his hand Naruto's chubby cheeks tenderly.

_A few days later…_

Kakashi was walking into Naruto's bedroom, knowing the little boy would be awake by now and getting impatient for someone to come pick him up and feed him. But when he arrived into the little bedroom, he immediately felt something was wrong. No noise could be heard coming from the crib. The feeling got stronger as Kakashi approached closer to the crib. When he arrived to the crib and leant over it, what he saw took all his self-control to stay calm though he was on the verge of freaking out. Eyes closed and face flushed, Naruto was laying on his back his small chest heaving rapidly as if he was having problems breathing. Doing a rapid check up to see if he was in any pain, the young shinobi, doing his best to stay calm, carefully picked him up, cradling him protectively in his arms as if he was protecting him from whatever illness he had.

Grabbing a warm blanket to wrap Naruto in it, only letting his face stick out of it, and putting a cape and his ANBU mask on, Kakashi left the house hastily toward the hospital. Inari had gone to the hospital today to replenish their stock in maternal milk. She had said she would take advantage of the little trip to visit with the head doctor and the Hokage to give them a report, on how everything was going, from him and told him to stay home and take it easy for once. Now jumping from one rooftop to another, Kakashi was hurrying toward the hospital being careful to hold correctly the boy while protecting him from the freezing December wind under his cape. You could feel in the air that snow was soon going to fall. He didn't care it wasn't his regulatory uniform, he didn't care he looked like the devil himself was chasing after him or that he was under attack. All that mattered right now was Naruto.

Bursting through the hospital's entry, Kakashi walked quickly in and caught the first nurse who happened to walk near him.

"I need to see doctor Iyashi immediately." Kakashi told her with urgency in his voice.

"I'm sorry but Iyashi-sensei is on consultation and nobody else is available for the moment." The nurse said about to walk away, "I recommend you fill in the form and wait."

"I think you didn't quite understand miss," Kakashi replied with a dangerous undertone, grabbing her arm to stop her from moving further.

"This child has a fever and seems to have trouble breathing. It can't wait." He told her as he pushed slightly away his cape to show Naruto wrapped up in his blanket his little face flushed and his blond hair stuck on his head soaked with sweat.

Before the nurse can reply, someone arrive behind Kakashi.

"What is going on here?" a voice that Kakashi recognized immediately said.

Inari eyed the ANBU in the cape suspiciously before she noticed and recognized the little bundle in his arms to be Naruto.

"Ka… ANBU-san what's the matter with the child?" Inari asked barely avoiding slipping out Kakashi's identity.

"He is feverish and has trouble breathing. I don't know what's wrong with him." He told her having a hard time to keep the tinge of worry out of his voice, trying to sound as emotionless as possible.

"Alright lets find a room where we can examine him." She nodded sternly and then turned toward the nurse, "You, as soon as a medic-nin is available tell him to come quickly to room 10."

As soon as they arrived in the empty room and that Inari had closed the door, she turned quickly to Kakashi.

"Put him on the table please." She told him putting latex gloves on, "I'm not a doctor but I can at least try to see what's wrong with him."

Kakashi put Naruto down on the table with the blanket still surrounding him. Inari pulls the sides of the blanket away on each side of the boy. She then began to examine him, checking his temperature and listening to his heartbeat and breathing, checking his ears and throat. After a few minutes of examination, she got away from him and turned to Kakashi with a mixed expression between relieved and worried, an expression that announced that there was good news but that there was also bad news.

"The good news is that he is in no immediate danger." She told him, making Kakashi feel relieved for a few seconds.

"What is the problem then?" Kakashi asked feeling still a bit anxious.

"Well my best guess would be that he has roseola, it's a common disease for babies. We also call it the baby measles." She explained to him.

"Is it serious?" he asked.

"It can be if the fever goes too high but if we are vigilant to keep the fever down we have nothing to worry about." She said putting a hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him, "Don't worry he will be ok, he is one tough little guy."

"I hope you are right." He sighed, "So what do we have to do?"

"We can't really do anything but make sure that his fever doesn't go too high, the rest is all up to him." She told him her eyes showing that she wished she could do something more to help. "I'll see with a medic-nin for a second diagnosis but that's it, it'll take about one to two weeks for him to recover. In that case I think the best thing would be for him to stay here where we can monitor him to see how the recovery process goes."

An hour later a medic-nin had come and confirmed Inari's diagnosis, and Naruto was installed in a little bedroom where Kakashi could stay with him without his ANBU mask on. A nurse was coming every two hours to take the child's temperature, making sure it didn't go too high. His chin put on his joined hands, Kakashi watched over the sleeping baby feeling completely useless, praying whatever Gods above to help the boy get better. There was nothing else he could do than wait, wait for Naruto to get better. It seemed so unfair that Naruto had to fight this disease by himself to recover. Only two months old and already three miseries have fell upon him with the death of his parents, the Kyubi sealed inside him and now this disease.

Three days later Naruto was healed. This more than quick recovery had astonished the medic-nin as well as Inari and Kakashi. The red spots that should have appeared on the little boy's body and stayed for a few days there, had indeed appeared but in a matter of an hour the said red spots had disappeared.

"Kyubbi's healing power…" Kakashi had murmured to himself as he realized that only the Nine Tail demon could have done this.

"You think that's it?" Inari asked having heard him and startling him from his thoughts.

"I don't really see anything else that could speed the recovery process so much. After all Kyubi wouldn't want his vessel to die or be damaged…" Kakashi remarked not knowing if he should feel relieved that Kyubi has healed Naruto or a bit frightened that the demon could have just the slightest influence on Naruto's body.

"Oh Kami…" was all Inari could say as she looked at the baby, oblivious to the feeling of sadness and concern they shared for him, as he slept peacefully.

"Maybe it isn't totally a curse to have this demon sealed inside him..." Kakashi thought out loud, "The Yondaime has given his son a strong protection…"

"Maybe…" Inari said thoughtfully gnawing her lower lip nervously her eyes shining with concern, "But don't you think that if the demon can heal him, he can also hurt?"

"It is more than probable." Kakashi told her, his voice grave making Inari's face frown even more in worry, "Though I don't think he would anything to the kid that could kill him. Maybe we should go see the Sandaime and ask him what he thinks about all this."

_A few hours later back at the little house…_

Kakashi had decided that there was no way he would let Naruto sleep alone tonight and had brought Naruto to sleep next to him on his bed. Nothing Inari had said to try to persuade him that Naruto was safe had worked. As he watched Naruto stomach down on the mattress sucking on his pacifier in his sleep, his little arms next to his head, Kakashi thought back at their conversation with the hokage.

_Flashback_

They had just explained the situation to the Sandaime and they were now waiting for him to say something while the old man looking like he was deep in thought.

"Did you know about this Sandaime?" Kakashi asked him getting a bit impatient, the silence making him anxious.

"Yes I did. The sealing technique is really complex and difficult, and though the Yondaime has done a really good job on Naruto, it only seals the tailed beast inside the boy and gives him 95% of control over it." The old said sighing gravely, "Unfortunately the boy will live with this great quantity of chakra inside of him all his life. All we can hope is that nothing happens that would break the seal and free the Kyubi."

_End of flashback_

Letting out a sigh, Kakashi went to lie down on the bed next to Naruto. Lying on his side, he watched over the toddler during the whole night, not feeling the least bit tired.

_A few days later on Christmas day…_

"Merry Christmas to you both!" Inari said in a jolly tone as Kakashi, not fully awake yet, descended the stairs with a happily fussing Naruto in his arms.

"Merry Christmas to you too Inari-san." Kakashi mumbled back rubbing his temple with his free hand.

"Not feeling well?" she asked him still sporting a big grin.

" 'S your fault if I have a hangover." He grumbled as he was preparing an aspirin for himself.

Last night, Inari had deemed it necessary to have a little party, while putting the last minute decorations and Christmas tree that she herself had demanded to have. Her argument was because it was "Naruto's first Christmas and that firsts were the most important". Kakashi had said that it was just stupid and that Naruto would never remember this day, which had earned him a whack on top of his head from the hyper nurse who didn't want to hear a complaint. After having mumbled something about nurses who must have had an intense training course with Tsunade-sama to be so freaking strong, and having received another whack on his head, Kakashi finally agreed to go Christmas shopping and decorate the entire house for the occasion. When they were done, Inari had taken a big bottle of plum sake along with two glasses and had incited the young, and most of all still underage, shinobi to drink some. Before they knew it they had drunk the whole bottle and had barely been able to go to their respective room.

"Yeah we might have overdone it a bit." She said rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly but her grin never leaving though there was now a nervous twitch to it.

"You think?" the young shinobi replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey you didn't say no either." She argued.

"As if I had a choice with you nagging me about how it's too lonely to drink all by yourself." Kakashi said looking at her straight in the eyes.

"But it is!" she said in an almost whiny voice, pouting childishly.

"Could you stop act like a spoiled child please?" he asked sighing in exasperation.

"No!" she replied with a grin, crossing her arms over her chest in a comic gesture.

"Should have figured." He said rolling his eyes going into the kitchen to prepare the milk for Naruto who was fussing more and more as he was becoming hungry.

As soon as he had finished to prepare the feeding bottle, Kakashi went to the living room, joining Inari on the couch to feed Naruto. As he sits he notices something red in Inari's hands.

"What is it?" he asked as he eyed curiously what looked to be a piece of clothe.

Outside, someone was approaching the small house. As he was about to knock on the door he heard exclamations coming from the house.

"Oh hell no! He is not going to wear this thing!" a voice that surprisingly sounded like Kakashi's exclaimed.

"Aw come on he would look adorable in this!" the other voice that could only be Inari said.

"Inari-san," Kakashi began to say sounding like he was trying to stay calm, "There is no way that I'm going to let you dress Naruto in a Santa outfit."

"You really have no Christmas spirit." You could almost hear her pout when she said this, "Besides it's not like I was dressing him into a girl's outfit again…"

"You did what?" Kakashi exclaimed.

At this moment the person at the door decided to knock on the door rather loudly to be heard. It was Kakashi who opened the door with a calm Naruto in his arm looking like he was used to the other two's antics.

"Iyashi-san what are you doing here?" Kakashi, surprised, asked recognizing the person at the front door as Iyashi the medic-nin.

"Merry Christmas to you too Kakashi-kun." Iyashi replied amused, "Are you going to let me in?"

"Oh huh sure come in." Kakashi said making way for Iyashi to enter and closed the door before turning back to the medic-nin, "So what brings you here?"

But before Iyashi could say a thing he got himself an armful of a certain nurse.

"Nii-san!" Inari exclaimed happily as she pounced on him, hugging him tightly, making him stagger a bit but managing to keep his balance.

"Hey sis' how are you?" Iyashi asked with a small amused smile.

"I'm ok but Kakashi-kun here is a meanie." Inari said pouting like a kid.

Dumbfounded, Kakashi looked at the scene in front of him having a hard time to register everything in his mind. What was going on here? Those two are brother and sister?

"Kakashi-kun I'm sorry for my sister's childishness." Iyashi said with an apologetic smile, pulling Kakashi out of his thoughts.

"She sure can be hassle alright. Sometimes I feel like I'm the one who is the adult." Kakashi replied with a smirk making Inari stick out her tongue at him.

"Well thanks for putting up with her." The medic-nin told him then turned to his sister and added teasingly, "We've been trying for years to make her settle down but she is more stubborn than a mule."

"I like my independence." Said woman grumbled then added trying to change topic quickly, "Okay enough chit chat about my non-existent sentimental life. I'm starving, anyone up for chocolate chips pancakes?"

Ten minutes later they were all eating pancakes, Kakashi still holding Naruto in his arms. He had tried to give him to Inari or Iyashi who wanted to hold him but the toddler had begun to cry flailing his arms toward Kakashi, wanting to be only held by him. Though the two others had politely diverted their eyes from him while he was eating so that he could eat slowly without being afraid of having his face being seen, Kakashi took a bit more time to eat than usual as he had to hold Naruto in one arm.

"This little guy is really attached to you." Iyashi remarked, after they had finished eating, with a fond smile as he watched Naruto trying to pull down Kakashi's mask.

Now that he could grasp objects, Naruto had taken the habit to try to see what was under the mask. His beautiful cerulean eyes watching in wonderment Kakashi's face like he was wondering if Kakashi had buckteeth or something.

"Alright lets get to the unwrapping of our presents!" Inari said in a tone that left no argument with a cheery smile and grabbed the first package that was under the Christmas tree, "Here is one for you Kakashi-kun."

"You got me a present?" Kakashi asked astonished.

"Of course I did!" she replied sounding like it was obvious.

It was a small rectangular present wrapped in a navy blue colored paper with silver snowflakes on it. Touched by her gesture, Kakashi slowly unwrapped his present feeling warm inside at the nice attention. When he finished unwrapping it, the young shinobi stared at his present with a dumbfounded look on his face. Never would he have thought Inari would have given him this...

Holding it like it might bite, what Kakashi was staring at so intently was the new novel of Jiraiya called 'Icha Icha Paradise volume 1'. Too flabbergasted to keep his emotions in check, you could see red spread on over his face, making him look like a big red tomato.

"So? So? Do you like it?" Inari asked excitedly looking like she trying not to laugh at the face he was making right now.

"Hum…" Kakashi said at loss for words, "Inari-san…isn't that book for adults?"

Iyashi curious of what was going on leaned over to see what was the title of the book, his eyes going wide for a few seconds at seeing the title before closing them and letting out a sigh.

"Seriously Inari why did you buy him this kind of book? He is only 14." Iyashi scolded his sister, looking at her with an expression that said 'what am I going to do with you?'.

"Aw come on did you see his reaction? It was priceless!" Inari argued grinning like mad, her chest shaking with suppressed laughter, "Besides Kakashi-kun there is another book along with this one just under the first."

Indeed there was another one Kakashi noticed as he put the perverted book down on the coffee table. The other one was still from Jiraiya but the title and cover looked much more normal to Kakashi's relief. You could read on the cover the following title: 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'.

"Well at least this one is a normal one." Iyashi commented out loud with relief in his voice, "I've read it, it's a really entertaining book. At least half of your present is decent Inari."

"Hey you should know by now that I always like to give something silly and something nice." Inari stated an innocent look on her face then added with a shrug, "Moreover it's not like he has to read the other right now. He can always wait for a few years before reading it."

"Well thank you Inari-san for the books…though I'm not really sure how I feel about the first one, but thank you anyway." Kakashi told her his face still a bit red from embarrassment.

"You are welcome." Inari told him smiling, "I think you will love the Tale of a Utterly Gutsy Shinobi it really is a nice book."

"Well I think this is my turn to give a present so here is one for Naruto." Iyashi said handing over to Kakashi a red and golden square wrapped box, "Inari told me that the little guy here enjoyed music and lullabies I thought this would be nice for him to fall asleep with. Like that if you want you will be able to sing it along to him."

The little box revealed a stylishly wooden carved music box, playing a lullaby called 'Good Night my Angel' that Kakashi had already heard once.

"Thank you Iyashi-san this is beautiful. I'm sure he will love it." Kakashi thanked the medic-nin while showing the box to Naruto who was looking at it with great interest.

This went on and on for an hour, an hour during which Inari gave Naruto a big teddy bear that was almost the size of Kakashi and an one year old size orange baby jumper, which Kakashi wasn't too fond of but that Naruto seemed to like particularly, to the great distress of Kakashi. Kakashi got some rolls about medical jutsus from Iyashi along with a warm blanket for the cold winter nights. The siblings gave each other a sweater with a cup of hot chocolate drawn on it with written beneath 'I'm a hot piece of chocolate' making everybody, Kakashi as well, laugh at the lame sweaters though it didn't stop the two sibling from putting them on.

As Kakashi watched Inari and Iyashi interact with each other, he began to notice that they had both light brown hair, Inari having them shoulder length while Iyashi had them short of course, they had almost similar features, and oddly enough when one would move one way the other would follow the movement without noticing.

"Inari-san, Iyashi-san, can I ask you something? Are you two twins?" Kakashi asked as he looked at the two turning their head toward him at the same time.

"Yes we are." The both replied at the same time with a smile.

"Though our personalities are quite a bit different as you probably already noticed it." Iyashi said smiling amusedly, "I'm the calm and mature one, while Inari is the wild and completely immature one."

This earned him a grimace aimed at him by Inari who stuck her tongue childishly at him.

"Yeah I can see that quite well." Kakashi said with a small smile, before he noticed Naruto yawning, and rubbing his eyes with his small hands, and got up from the couch.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go put Naruto to bed." He informed the twins, and then grabbed the music box before walking up the stairs toward Naruto's bedroom.

Arriving into the little bedroom, Kakashi gently put the toddler inside the crib. Not happy about not being in Kakashi's arms anymore, the baby began to fuss but almost immediately stopped when Kakashi opened the music box filling the room with the notes of the soft lullaby that was starting. Kakashi wasn't really at ease with singing in front of people, he didn't even sing in the shower for fear that someone might hear him. But watching Naruto's cute face with his big cerulean eyes fighting to stay open, he felt the need to sing for the beautiful little angel this lullaby that he thankfully knew. So he began to sing the lullaby softly, singing the words like they were meant especially for the little boy.

_Good night my angel time to close you eyes  
And save these questions for another day  
I think I know what you've been asking me  
I think you know what I've been trying to say_

_I promised I would never leave you  
And you should always know  
Where ever you may go  
No matter where you are  
I never will be far away_

_Good night my angel now it's time to sleep  
And still so many things I want to say  
Remember all the songs you sang for me  
When we went sailing on an emerald bay_

_And like a boat out on the ocean  
I'm rocking you to sleep  
The water's dark and deep  
Inside this ancient heart  
You'll always be a part of me_

_Goodnight my angel now it's time to dream  
And dream how wonderful your life will be  
Someday your child will cry and if you sing this lullaby  
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me_

_Someday we'll all be gone  
But lullabies go on and on  
They never die that's how you and I will be_

When he finished the lullaby, Naruto was sleeping deeply, his open as he breathed in and out.

"Goodnight little angel." Kakashi whispered softly placing a covered kiss, with his mask, on the baby's forehead before leaving.

Coming back downstairs, Kakashi found Iyashi in the kitchen washing the dishes in the sink.

"You didn't have to do this Iyashi-san." Kakashi told him as he approached.

"Don't worry about it Kakashi-kun." Iyashi replied with a smile looking at Kakashi over his shoulder, "I am the one who imposed myself today on you after all."

"Which reminds me, what was your real reason for coming here today?" Kakashi asked knowing that the medic-nin, though he didn't doubt his want to spend Christmas with them, must have something really important to tell him for coming all the way here.

"Nothing escapes you huh?" Iyashi asked in a rhetoric kind of way letting a wary sigh escape his lips, "The Sandaime charged me to tell you that you are to go back to duty at the start of next year."

_**TBC**_

**Well here it is I hope you enjoyed it. The lullaby is from Billy Joel. This is one of my favorite songs from him. **


	5. Back to Work

**People seem to be confused whose couple this story is about and I apologize for that. Some of you were wondering if it was a Kakashi x Inari fic and I can assure you that it is not. Though I have to admit that it might be a bit long to start, it is a KakaNaru fic. Inari is merely a friend who will help and support them throughout the story. She is a bit like Tsunade and Anko (I'm saying Anko for the crazy lunatic side. :p). This is why I kinda did a thorough description of her in the latest chapter for you to understand her more since she might appear a few times throughout the evolution of Kakashi and Naruto's relationship.**

_Previously_

"_Which reminds me, what was your real reason for coming here today?" Kakashi asked knowing that the medic-nin, though he didn't doubt his want to spend Christmas with them, must have something really important to tell him for coming all the way here._

"_Nothing escapes you huh?" Iyashi asked in a rhetoric kind of way letting a wary sigh escape his lips, "The Sandaime charged me to tell you that you are to go back to duty at the start of next year."_

_Back to the present_

"That's in one week." Kakashi said surprised.

"It is." Iyashi replied looking compassionate, "I know it must be going a bit too fast for you, especially since you normally had 5 more months to get used to things with Naruto and all. But the village is in crucial need of all the shinobis available. Especially special ops such as the ANBU since all the average shinobis are to rebuild the village. They are the ones who will prevent the village from being attacked when at its weak state."

"Shouldn't I be considered as unavailable since I'm having to raise Naruto by myself?" Kakashi asked keeping the distress to have to leave Naruto so soon, for a few hours each day, out of his voice.

"Well," Iyashi began to say looking uncomfortable under the young ANBU member's questioning gaze, "apparently the fact that you have Inari here to help you means you can go back to full duty and have her babysit him while you are away."

"And who deemed me capable to go back to duty?" Kakashi asked in a cool voice, keeping his anger inside him.

"The council." Iyashi said eyes downcast, "I'm really sorry Kakashi, the hokage tried to stop them from doing that but there are just so many other things he must attend to that he didn't succeed in keeping the council away. The only thing you can do is show them that it's not because you are back on duty that you can't take care of Naruto."

"I guess you are right." Kakashi said sighing resignedly.

"Don't worry." Iyashi told him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You can count on me, Inari and the Sandaime to help you stand against the council. They won't be able steal Naruto from you."

"You know," Kakashi began to say eyes looking afar like in a dream, "when Minato asked me take care of Naruto, I hesitated at first. I was scared. Scared of not being worthy to raise my former sensei's son."

"But after a month," he continued, "I began to feel tenderness for the child, and now he has become a part of my life. I now want to make sure that he will never miss of anything. I want to give him a carefree and happy life."

"I know." Iyashi said with a small smile, "This little guy really has grown on you huh?"

"Yeah." Kakashi replied with an embarrassed chuckle scratching the back of his head.

"You know I'm really proud of the man you are becoming." Iyashi told him his eyes glistening with pride, "Naruto is softening you up in a good way. You are more relaxed and you finally let your emotions show a bit."

"You know, I hate to admit it but this is also thanks to Inari-san." Kakashi told him with an amused smile, "She is a really good friend."

"Aww Kakashi you think I'm a great friend!" someone by the kitchen door exclaimed.

This person was Inari. She ran to Kakashi and pounced on him, taking him into a bone-crushing bear hug.

"Kami you are so cute I just want to squeeze the life out of you!" she cooed still hugging him tightly.

"Hum I think you are doing just that sis'…" Iyashi commented a bit worried for Kakashi's life as he watched his sister squeezing him in her tight hug, his face in her chest choking him to death.

Kakashi's arms were flailing in every direction, trying to get away from the vice grip of this woman with ridiculous strength for a simple nurse.

"Inari you should let him go now, I think he is turning blue from the lack of oxygen." Iyashi told her.

At hearing that Inari let go of a Kakashi whom was gasping for air to enter his lungs.

"I swear Inari-san. One day, you'll be the death of me." Kakashi said as he recovered his breathe.

"Oh come on now, you don't have to use honorifics! You said I'm your best friend!" she replied grinning like mad, hands on her hips.

"I said 'really good friend'," The young ANBU corrected, " and I may not consider you like this anymore if you keep on trying to choke me to death every time."

"Hmph you ungrateful brat." She huffed acting like she was pouting, "You are not even touched by my demonstration of friendship on you. You don't deserve the awesome book I gave you, I should take it back to give it to someone who will appreciate my gesture."

"Please do." He replied with a deadpanned look on his face, looking at her in exasperation at her antics.

This woman was too melodramatic for her own good. Kakashi knew that was one of the reasons he always dreaded to go outside with her. She always managed to act hyper and to make people turn around on her passage to look at her like she was crazy. He had to give that to her, she didn't give a single dime about what people thought about her. She had her own personality and beliefs, and she wasn't going to change them for anything. But man this woman could be quite scary and tiring sometimes!

"Well just because you said this I won't then." She replied cheekily sticking her tongue at him.

"Okay I think this is enough of childish behavior for one day." Iyashi intervened chuckling coming in between the two.

"But brother! He started it!" the nurse argued in a whiny voice giving her brother big doe eyes.

"Nice try but I know you are the one who teased him first." Iyashi said completely ignoring the eyes his sister was giving him, "I have eyes and ears you know."

"Brother you are a meanie." Inari mumbled.

"And you are a thirty two woman who doesn't act like her age and who has drunk a way enough for tonight." The medic-nin replied an amused smile on his face.

"I'm not drunk." The nurse protested slurring her words a little.

"Right…" he said looking at her like she was a small child he had to take care of, "and I'm the Land of Fire feudal lord. Come on off to bed."

"But I don't want to go to bed!" she whined more, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sorry sis' you don't really have a say in the matter." The medic-nin told her smirking before startling her by picking her up and carrying her on his shoulder like some bag of potatoes.

While undignified protests were coming from the slurring nurse who had her head upside down, Iyashi turned to Kakashi who had watched the scene with stunned amusement.

"Well Kakashi-kun, I'll put the whiny princess here to sleep and I'll leave." He told him, as he was about to bid him goodnight.

"You know you've had a lot to drink too, you could sleep here tonight if you want." Kakashi told him.

"That's really nice of you but I wouldn't want to impose myself on you, my sister already does it pretty well." The medic-nin said.

"I assure you it doesn't bother me to have one more person stay here." The young shinobi assured him and added with a smirk, "After all, if I can tolerate her I can tolerate anybody."

"Well then I'll accept your proposition Kakashi-kun." Iyashi accepted, "Though I have one condition."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"You have to come celebrate the New Year with us." The medic-nin told him with a warm smile.

"I would be honored." Kakashi said smiling a happy feeling squirming inside him.

_A few days after the New Year…_

The passage in the New Year had been fun for Kakashi. They had eaten the traditional mashed potatoes with chestnut, and mochis that Inari had made for them all. The young man had watched with amusement as the twins bickered about whose kite was the most awesome, while he fed Naruto.

As usual Inari had been hyper and drunk, teasing Kakashi to embarrassment, and Iyashi, as the big brother, had made sure to lecture her on proper behavior in public. Kakashi had been surprised at how easy it had been for him to be able to relax and enjoy himself with those two persons who were soon becoming people dear to him.

Speaking of people dear to him, Kakashi looked down at the little bundle with blond hair nestled in his arm right now that was sleeping deeply.

Today was the day Kakashi was starting once again his job as an ANBU agent. He was already all dressed up, his mask on the side of his head ready to be put on at any moment. But he couldn't bring himself to leave before watching Naruto sleeping face. At first he was just going to watch him sleep but soon the need to have the little toddler in his arms overpowered him and he picked the infant up, careful not to wake him up.

Reluctantly Kakashi put Naruto back in his crib and walked out of the little house, putting his wolf mask on.

The cold night air made the young ANBU shiver slightly as he began to jump off on the roofs toward the ANBU office where the hokage, with another ANBU agent, was waiting for him.

"Ah Kakashi, glad to see you." The Sandaime told him with a nod of his head as acknowledgment, "Sorry for calling you back so soon, but we are in cruel need of men right now."

"I understand hokage-sama." The young man said bowing respectively in front of the old man before asking, "So what is our mission?"

"I will tell you but before I want to present you a new member: Tenzo." Sarutobi announced as he extended his toward the new ANBU agent.

Kakashi turned toward the direction the Sandaime was pointing to see a young man who looked to be his age at the most with a cat mask on his face.

"It's an honor to meet you Kakashi-senpai." The young ANBU named Tenzo said bowing, "I hope to learn a lot under your command."

"Nice to meet you." Kakashi simply replied with a nod.

"Alright gentlemen, I will now tell you your mission." The old told them, "Since the nearly destruction of our village by the Kyubi we have been weak, and ninjas from other villages have been trying to attack the village. Your mission is to patrol around on the north part of the village."

"Understood." Kakashi said with a quick nod imitated by Tenzo.

"One more thing, Might Guy is going to join you later." The Sandaime told Kakashi before they took off to their patrol area, "Good luck."

As Kakashi went to the northern side of Konoha with Tenzo, he couldn't help but feel confused. Why was Guy, a chunin, joining them? Was the situation so bad that chunins had to join in ANBU teams?

"So Tenzo, how old are you?" Kakashi asked his partner trying to start a conversation.

"I am 12 sir." The young ANBU said.

'So young' Kakashi thought. Though he wasn't that much older, Kakashi couldn't help but feel sad about another young one becoming part the ANBU, an organization where the only life you can have is a life filled with lies. You can't tell your friends or your family what you do. The only people who actually know what you do are the ANBU members with who you work.

"Senpai?" Kakashi heard Tenzo call him tentatively startling him from his thoughts.

"What is it Tenzo?" he asked, without turning his head to look at the younger man, with a sort of weariness in his voice.

"Is it true that you were with the Yondaime when he sealed away the Kyubi?" the young man asked him, genuine curiosity clear in his voice but, but after a few minutes of tense silence he added hastily in an embarrassed tone, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to pry."

"It's ok." Kakashi reassured him.

"It's just that…" the other said hesitantly, "the Sandaime didn't tell us much about what happened. He only told us to consider the child named Naruto, in whom the Kyubi has been sealed, as a hero and treat him with respect."

"Have people respected that order?" Kakashi asked tense, though he already knew the answer.

"Well people haven't seen the infant much so…" the younger ANBU began sounding uncomfortable.

"I'm asking you if the villagers have been nice when speaking about Naruto." Kakashi interrupted him barely containing the growl out of his voice.

"No they haven't." Tenzo said sheepishly.

"Thought so." He muttered under his breath, "What about you Tenzo?"

"What about me?" the younger man asked confused.

"What are your feelings about this? Do you see Naruto as the monster that nearly destroyed our village?" he asked him his voice strangely calm.

"I don't have a definite opinion. I have to admit that at first I resented him for all the sufferings that our village received. But then I realized that this child hadn't done anything to me so I couldn't hate him." Tenzo answered softly head looking down, "People are just afraid. The threat of the Nine Tail's demon, even sealed into the child, is too fresh in their mind."

Kakashi acknowledged this answer with silence as he pondered what the young had just said.

"Kid." Kakashi called after a moment of silence.

"Yes?" the called one asked.

"Thank you." He told him in a whisper that said tons.

This thank you meant thank you for your honesty, and thank you for thinking like this.

"It is merely my opinion." The other said sounding embarrassed to have been thanked.

"Yes but not many people share it." Kakashi replied slowing down his pace before coming to a stop, "We are there."

The two ANBU stopped into a meadow in the middle of the forest situated on top of the Hokage Mountain. They didn't have to wait long before a group of three ANBU agents appeared.

"Are you the replacement team?" one of them who looked like the leader of the team asked.

"We are." Kakashi answered.

"Where is the third member of your team?" the man asked.

Before Kakashi could answer a loud voice could be heard coming near.

"Behold my eternal rival! The Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey is joining you in this youthful mission!" the loud voice proclaimed.

'Oh hell no.' Kakashi thought sighing, itching to rub his hand over his face in annoyance, 'May be it's not too late… Maybe I can run away before he sees me… This weirdo is capable of recognizing me even with this mask on.'

But it was too late as Guy landed right next to him in his ridiculous green jumpsuit and his orange-stripped leg warmers.

"Gentlemen how are you all doing on this youthful morning?" the self-proclaimed Green Beast of Konoha asked doing his "nice guy pose".

Looking at him with complete stunned silence, the other ANBU team recovered after some time and the leader saluted them, ignoring Guy's attitude, before heading back to the village.

"Hey Guy." Kakashi lazily greeted his friend.

Yes Guy was what you could call a friend. Of course it was Guy imposing his presence and energy on Kakashi but the young man found him amusing and nice so he indulged the other's crazy antics.

"Hello my eternal rival! How are you doing on this youthful morning?" Gai asked giving an energetic tap on the young ANBU's shoulder.

"I'm good." He replied his hands in his pockets, "Guy I present to you Tenzo. He is a new recruit."

"Nice to meet young ANBU! It is so nice to meet so much youth!" Guy exclaimed extending his arm to shake hands with Tenzo.

"Oi may I remind you that you are young too Guy…" Kakashi said a sweat drop forming on the back of his, then he turned toward Tenzo, "I apologize for his behavior. He has always been quite…energetic."

"Shall we start my youthful friends?" Guy asked excitedly.

"Yes." Kakashi agreed with a nod turning toward his teammates, "Guy you go on my right side and Tenzo you stay on my left. Alright let's go."

With that said the group took off, roaming the forest, senses in alert for the slightest noise. Suddenly, after a few hours of patrolling, Kakashi, who had the most sensitive hearing of the group, heard a noise coming from his left. Instantly he told his teammates to follow him. They found two ninjas from the Hidden Village of the Land of Lightning running into the village's direction. They landed right in front of them, blocking their passage. Stopping abruptly, swords in hand the two enemy ninjas watched them carefully, sizing them up.

"Gentlemen we have a few questions to ask you." Kakashi told them taking a step forward.

This sentence seemed to make the two ninjas decide what they were going to do as they charged the group. A battle then ensued, as one of them tried to decapitate Guy, but failed as the chunnin dodged gracefully before kicking with his foot the jaw of his opponent, sending him fly a few meters away. Kakashi, who had to fight against the other, was soon overpowering him with his speed, sending him flying not too far from his partner that had been defeated by Guy.

"How are we going to bring them back to the village?" Gai asked.

"Let me handle this." Tenzo told them starting a series of hand signs before slamming his hands on the floor.

A wooden cage started coming out of the ground, imprisoning them completely.

"Nice job Tenzo." Kakashi commented impressed.

"Thank you Kakashi-senpai." The young ANBU said sounding embarrassed at being complimented.

Moments later while the three of them were walking back toward the village. Each of them was carrying a side of the cage imprisoning the two ninjas.

"So Tenzo," Kakashi began curious but with a cautious edge in his voice, "how did you manage to learn the wood techniques?"

"Hum well…" Tenzo began.

"I would understand if you didn't want to talk about it." he told him quickly.

"No it's ok." the other said looking at the ground before taking a deep breathe and telling them, "Shortly after I was born, I got abducted by Orochimaru, as a test subject, who implanted in me the First Hokage's DNA. Since then I have the abilities that had the Shodai."

"Wow…" Guy said speechless for once.

"Well I've never known my parents, and whatever Orochimaru did to me, I was an infant at this time so I haven't been scarred mentally by it." the young man shrugged.

"Well your ability is quite impressive and very useful." Kakashi told him in a nice tone, "Though your ability comes from the experiment of a mad man, you must feel proud and happy of the fact that you are alive and that you can use this ability for good deeds."

Feeling a gaze on him, Kakashi turned his head toward Guy who was looking at him like he was seeing for the first time. Curious as to why Guy was looking at him like that, Kakashi shrugged it off as nothing of importance. Later, while Tenzo was handing the prisoners to the ANBU guards, Kakashi and Guy were waiting for him not far away.

"You know Kakashi, I'm impressed of how much you've changed in those past 3 months." Guy told Kakashi looking in the distance.

"How so?" Kakashi asked his eyebrow rose in surprise.

"You are, and you have always been, of a reserved nature. You never really opened to people and it's still true. But you seem to be more sociable." Guy commented, "Even though you still don't really show your emotions, I'm really glad you have opened so much. As a friend I'm glad of this change."

"Is this a love declaration?" Kakashi asked teasingly, amused.

"Okay now you really need to tell me who is the girl who made you change this much so that I can congratulate her!" Guy exclaimed, stunned that Kakashi had just used humor.

"Sorry there is no girl." Kakashi replied.

"A guy then." Guy supplied grinning.

"No." Kakashi answered then added with a small smile hidden by his mask, "It is more of a boy."

"You are going out with a pre-teen!" Guy exclaimed baffled.

"No you idiot! I'm talking about Naruto!" Kakashi told him rolling his eyes behind his ANBU mask.

"Naruto?" Guy repeated confused.

"The child I'm raising. Yondaime's legacy." Kakashi said feeling annoyed at Guy's ignorance.

"Oh!" Guy said as remembrance hit him.

At this moment, Tenzo came back toward them.

"Everything is in order, the prisoners will be interrogated by Ibiki Morino." He declared.

"Ouch I wouldn't want to be those prisoners right now." Kakashi said wincing a bit when remembering the one time he made the mistake to enter the room, where Ibiki was conducting the interrogation.

"Well we must be glad that we have him on our side." Guy replied chuckling.

"Guy-san could I ask you a question?" Tenzo said the self-proclaimed Green Beast of Konoha.

"Of course my youthful friend!" Guy told him smiling broadly.

"Why are you still a chunin with the abilities that you have?" the young man asked.

At hearing the question Kakashi leant a bit, curious himself about the answer that Guy would give. He had always wondered himself why his friend slash rival had not passed the jonin exam yet. True he had an extremely low level in ninjutsu but his level in taijutsu was so high that he had more than what the capacities to be a jonin. Though he had always wanted to know the reason, he had never asked out of fear to be answered with some stupid answer that he knew the guy was capable of.

"Well you see my youthful friend," Guy began a serious expression on his face, "I made a promise to myself that as long as I didn't manage to open six of the Eight Gates, I wouldn't pass the jonin exam."

"B-but the Eight Gates is one of the most difficult technique to master!" Tenzo said in disbelief, "How many gate have you managed to open?"

"Four. But I need much more training before managing to open the two others." Guy said doing his nice guy pose, "Well my youthful friends I have to go. But I promise you to come back soon. Lets have a competition next time my eternal rival!"

With this said, he took off from the nearest window, jumping joyfully on the rooftops. Letting out a sigh, Kakashi turned toward Tenzo, who from his body language looked dumbfounded by Guy's words and behavior.

"He is a little weird but he is also quite strong." he told the young ANBU startling him a bit, "Come on lets go have some tea and relax."

As they arrived into the ANBU headquarters' common room, Kakashi took off his mask, after having taken a steaming cup of tea in his hand and sat down on one of the couches, Tenzo doing the same. Kakashi looked at Tenzo's uncovered face. He had a slightly round face, like the one of someone who had just lost his childlike traits, with brown hair and black eyes. Framing his face was a mask style forehead protector. His face was almost inexpressive but there was a soft touch to his features that Kakashi hoped the harshness of life wouldn't erase with the time.

"You are very skilled Tenzo." Kakashi said.

"Thank you senpai, but I think I'm still quite far from reaching your level." The younger man replied scratching his head embarrassedly, a dusty pink coloring his cheeks.

"I'm sure you'll progress quickly. Maybe one day we could have a match where you'll beat me." The older one told him his eyes doing a U turn showing that he was smiling.

"Would you be my mentor senpai?" Tenzo asked his voice hopeful.

"Well since you are already calling me senpai I see no problem." Kakashi said as he smiled before standing up from the couch, "I need to go home now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow senpai. Be safe." The young one told after him.

Waving lazily his hand in response as he walked away, Kakashi had only one thought in mind and that was to go back home. The prospect to be able to relax with a hot shower and to soon see the little blond angel, made him speed up, his heart thumping with anticipation to go back to the place he was happy to call home.

_**TBC **_

_**Well I hope you liked this chapter. As usual please tell me what you've thought of it. Your reviews are like my drug. :D I just can't get enough of them, they make me really happy and help me write faster. ^^**_

_**See ya next chapter!**_


	6. The Hanami

**I'm so sorry for the long wait but my life is so busy right now I have the hardest time doing everything I want. I also had some writer's blocks, which are hopefully over. I have ideas of how I want this story to develop but I don't always know how I'm going to do it. **

**Anyway I'd rather warn you beforehand that this is a short fill in chapter. Which means that it is filled with Kakashi and baby Naruto cuteness but it's not what we could call an actual chapter that makes the story move forward. **

**I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless, and I promise you to come up with a more interesting chapter next time. **

"Ah I can't wait for this mission to be over." Kakashi groaned his only visible eye drooping, "Why do we have to do paperwork? Isn't there people paid to do this task normally?"

"It's an express order from the hokage himself." Tenzo replied looking with a blasé expression his ANBU captain whining once again on not wanting to do paperwork.

The two ANBU members were right now in a room situated in the ANBU headquarters, reading and classifying them. A pile of files surrounded them, here and there, that still needed to be read and put away into their rightful box.

"Well I'm so tired that I can't concentrate on the words." The older ANBU member muttered loud enough for the younger man to hear.

"You do seem to be exhausted sempai." Tenzo remarked looking at his superior closely.

"No kidding." Kakashi replied looking darkly the pieces of paper like it was their entire fault if he was this tired.

"Have you always acted in such a childish manner?" Tenzo said exasperated.

"Maa not really no." Kakashi replied pensively as he recalled, with half sadness half nostalgia his time in the genin team of Minato with Obito and Rin, "A dear friend of mine made me realize how uptight and too rigid my life was and how it wasn't good. Though it took the comments of a crazy nurse for me to act upon those words he once told me and change, I owe him my view of moral and life in general."

As he said this Kakashi remembered with a fond smile Obito, Rin and his sensei. Some nights he could see them in his dreams, smiling and waving at him as if to say "we are okay, make us proud". In those dreams he would always imagine Rin and Obito finally together, and his shisho side by side with his wife Kushina. Those nights when he would dream of them, he would always wake up with a single teardrop in the morning. It was a way to show that he was mourning their deaths.

_Later that day…_

'Phew! What a day…' Kakashi thought tiredly as he jumped gracefully from rooftops to rooftops daydreaming of a long hot bath.

We were now in April. It had been four months since Kakashi had resumed work as an ANBU and springtime was now here. The trees were now covered with light green leaves, birds such as swallows chirped happily, a soft warm breeze was now appearing and flowers were beginning to blossom here and there. But most of all it was soon the time for the hanami: the flower viewing. The sakura blooming was expected to be next week and Kakashi had in mind to show Naruto the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

Fortunately, at the back of their little house there was beautiful garden that stretched up to the limits of the Konoha's forest. In this garden there was a small pond full of koi fishes and a few small pine trees and maple trees, as well as some jasmine that was crawling along the wall and was giving a sweet embalming scent that made you instantly relax. At the end of the garden a bit away from the rest of the garden was a tall cherry tree, which branches were extending to form a sort of parasol covered in lots of little fluffy looking pink flowers. This was the perfect spot to eat, drink and have a good time under, and Kakashi had decided that this would be where he would have a private flower viewing with the little blond, as he did not want anyone spoiling it with their irrational fear and hatred.

When he arrived home the sight of Naruto crawling on hands and knees with Inari chasing after the little guy greeted him.

"You little demon. Get back here!" The nurse said with disheveled hair looking like the toddler had given her a hard time, "Why can't you just stay where you are for a moment?"

'Serves her right.' Kakashi thought a bit maliciously, 'Now she won't make fun of me when I can't follow with Naruto.'

Suddenly Naruto seemed to sense someone had entered the room because he turned his little head toward the main door where Kakashi was standing there, refraining from laughing out loud at the hilarious sight of a disheveled and exhausted Inari. Recognizing him the little blond began to squeal in delight while sitting on his bum and extending his arms as a sign that he wanted to be held.

Inari, at seeing the blond terror looking with happily and excitedly at something, she turned her head in the direction the baby was looking.

"Ah Kakashi finally you are here!" she exclaimed a relieved expression on her face, "Please take care of this demon. He hasn't stopped moving and grabbing everything in his reach since this morning. He is making me go crazy!"

Hiding an amused snort, Kakashi walked toward the squealing baby who was getting impatient to be held by the young ANBU. Finally reaching Naruto, the young man picked him up and held him high in the air making the little blond boy giggle at being in the air like that.

"So you have been giving Inari-san a hard time huh you little devil." Kakashi said in a teasing almost cooing voice, tough he would never admit the latter.

"Ga goo!" Naruto began to babble cutely, while playing with Kakashi's ANBU hitai-ate that the young man had taken off a few seconds before.

"I'm going to my room to sleep for a while okay?" Inari said in a worn down voice as she dragged her feet to the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah don't worry I'll take care of him. You can go rest and relax." Kakashi told her dismissively his focus entirely toward the little guy in his arms.

"Doting possessive brat." The nurse mumbled amused before disappearing upstairs.

Kakashi went to the living room with Naruto still in his arms and sat down on the couch. He put the toddler on his laps. He was making him bounce up and down like if he was on a horse and making him look like he was going to fall from time to time by inclining him low in diverse directions. Naruto manifested his approval at the little game by laughing and making delighted squeals. The little blond boy was now 6 months old and had now taken the bad habit of grabbing everything within his reach, examining them with great interest like they could hide some special secrets from him. Watching him wander around in the house on all fours, looking at everything and making sounds to show his humor, was very entertaining to Kakashi. Everything was like a great world discovery for the baby and the young man was finding it quite amusing.

Looking over his shoulders to make sure no one was around, Kakashi pulled down his mask, winking mischievously at Naruto in the process. The toddler was looking at him with big sky blue eyes, his little chubby hand reaching the new uncovered face of the man who was holding him. Smiling Kakashi let the blond angel touch his face.

"You know you are the only one aside from my father and Iyashi-san who has ever seen my face." Kakashi murmured smiling tenderly as Naruto cooed lightly.

Then without warning he pulled Naruto's small T-shirt slightly up before blowing on the toddler's tummy, making the little blond squeak in indignation before giggling at the ticklish sensation. After a moment of playing, Kakashi suddenly heard a gurgling noise coming from Naruto's belly.

"Goo?" Naruto said looking surprised.

"Looks like someone is hungry." Kakashi commented amused, standing up and going to the kitchen to heat up a jar of baby food and prepare a bottle of water for the little blond.

After having prepared everything, Kakashi settled Naruto down on a high chair to feed him. When he finished giving him every last spoon of food, he gave the baby water bottle to the little guy who grabbed and held it while drinking from it. When the toddler had had enough water, Kakashi picked the toddler up from his high chair.

After having given him a bath, he put the Naruto down in his crib. As soon as he put him in his crib, he saw the little blond give a big yawn rubbing tiredly his already closing eyes, the eyelids opening and closing really fast as in trying to stay awake. Chuckling softly at the cute image he had in front of him, the young shinobi leaned down and pecked the little boy's forehead lovingly.

"Goodnight my angel." He whispered softly before leaving without a sound the room where the toddler was fast slipping into unconsciousness.

_A few days later…_

The sakura trees were finally blossoming. It was the weekend, and since he was off duty for two days Kakashi had bought some onigiris as well as miso tofu sticks, cold soba noodles, takoyaki sakura mochis, and some iced green tea to go with all this. There was enough food for at least five people but Kakashi didn't care, as he knew Iyashi and Inari would be coming later in the evening and they would certainly whine for some food. A big olive green blanket was sprawled on the ground right under the cherry tree that was filtering the sunrays giving a certain peaceful glow to the place. For the occasion, the young shinobi had put away his usual shinobi outfit for a more informal outfit in the form a dark blue kimono with his black mask covering his face's lower half as well as his neck. He enjoyed the feeling of the loose outfit that allowed his body to not be constricted in the tight pieces of cloth that were his ANBU uniform. Sitting on the blanket with his back against the tree trunk Kakashi was enjoying a lazy afternoon, watching the sakura blossoms as well as watching over Naruto. Speaking of the devil, the young ANBU member turned his head to look at the little blond crawling, trying to chase after butterflies and looking around with amazement filling his eyes at the falling petals.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile at seeing the little guy so excited by those surroundings he had never seen. It's true that this was the first time the little blond was outside since it had only begun to get warm a few days ago. As he watched the toddler discover all the new things that were surrounding him, the young man thought about how this little angel had step by step melt his heart and taken such an important place in his heart. As he watched the little face light up at every new discovery, Kakashi couldn't help but make the vow again and again to protect him from everything and with every fiber of his being.

Getting up Kakashi walked to Naruto to pick him up and raise him high in the air, imitating the sound of a plane as he was slightly rocking him to the left and to the right to act like the boy was a plane, making the little blond coo happily. Bringing the little boy close to his face he nuzzled the toddler's small nose with his own, giving him an Eskimo kiss making the little blond giggle at the action. Smirking, Kakashi laid Naruto on the blanket before tickling the boy's sides making him laugh as he tried to squirm away from the evil ticklish hands.

The rest of the afternoon went on lazily with Kakashi entertaining Naruto and just having fun being with the cheery blond toddler. Nothing could have disturbed the peace and happiness of living that way that the young man felt right now.

But one question kept nagging at the back of his mind like some troublesome stick poking him: will this last forever?

_**TBC**_

**I'm once again sorry that you had to wait so long for this chapter to come out especially a short fill in chapter. I know you must begin to think that it is getting quite long to begin to be a bit more interesting. But I can assure you that things are going to evolve in the next chapter. **

**While waiting for the next chapter, I want to thank each and every one of you for following this story and for all the nice reviews I keep receiving. I hope to keep on entertaining you throughout my future chapters. **


	7. Unwanted separation

**First I want to apologize (once again) for the long wait but this time you won't be disappointed as it is a really long chapter and it actually makes the story progress. Anyway I'll let you enjoy this chapter now. ;) **

We were the 6th of October and the weather was still unusually very warm for the season. It has almost been one year now that Kakashi had got Naruto under his care. A lot had happened, good times and bad times had come and gone but in the end it had been one of the young man's best year.

Watching the little blond learn and evolve under his eyes had been quite an enjoyment for the young shinobi who saw the little guy begin to do more and more things. Naruto was now able to walk with almost no help from his hands. He could understand simple sentences and say more and more words, and had more than mastered well the word "no". One of the latest stunts that he enjoyed doing to Kakashi was to pull off the socks or shoes that Kakashi would have just put on his feet, which never failed to exasperate the young man.

Speaking of the young shinobi sounds of water splashing and the sound of someone talking could be heard coming from the bathroom.

"Come on Naruto you need to stay still for a minute so that I can wash you." The voice of Kakashi could be heard saying.

When you entered the bathroom you could see the young shinobi inside the tub with a little blond head having fun with his rubber bath toys, not caring one bit about the man trying to wash him.

Having been soaked many times during bath time because of Naruto splashing him with the water of the bath, Kakashi had now decided that he would bath Naruto while bathing himself. So when he had arrived in the bathroom Kakashi had filled the bathtub with hot water while he had undressed himself and Naruto. After having checked that the water was not too hot, he went in the water with the little blond. When he was in the water, he began to softly pour water over the boy's head before proceeding to shampoo his hair, careful not to let any shampoo drip over his face. Right now Kakashi was trying to have the little blond be a little more patient so that he could wash the rest of him.

"Naruto." Kakashi said with a sigh trying to have a stern voice, "Stay still."

"No!" the little devil replied not even looking at the young ANBU member, concentrated on his rubber duck.

"Alright you leave me no choice but to tickle you." Kakashi announced in a dramatic sigh before smiling mischievously as he approached his hands to Naruto's ribs.

He began to tickle the boy's sides, right under his armpits, making the blond begin to laugh and squirm trying to get away from the tickling sensation.

"Kashi…'ickles!" the little blond exclaimed with his arms flailing as he giggled uncontrollably.

Taking advantage that the boy was trying to recover from his fit of laughter, Kakashi quickly washed the rest of Naruto's body.

"There we go!" Kakashi said with smirk, proud of himself for this diversion, "See I've washed you."

Naruto pouted at this but quickly giggled again slightly as Kakashi gave him a small teasing Eskimo kiss.

After some more playing around in the bath with making Naruto laugh, Kakashi got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around the little blond to keep him from being cold. The towel had a little hood with cat ears that Kakashi had to admit were adorable. After having quickly put some pajamas on and put back his mask on, the young ANBU member took the still hyper little blond to his bedroom to dress him in his own pajamas before putting him to bed.

"You know Naruto," Kakashi began to say with a smile as he put the pajama top on the boy, "Soon it will be your birthday. You will be one year old."

At saying one year old, Kakashi held one finger up which at his surprise Naruto imitated and also held one finger up while saying something that you could interpret as him trying to say "one".

After he tucked him in the little bed with bars, so that he could not fall off, that he now had purchased for him, Kakashi ran his hand gently through the boy's blond locks. He began to sing in a low voice Naruto's lullaby, slowly lulling the boy to sleep. Before he left, he leaned down and softly kissed Naruto's forehead murmuring "Goodnight my little angel".

That night Kakashi had the most disturbing dream.

He was walking in a forest when he saw a spot of light in the distance, as he got nearer to the light he could now see that the spot of light was in fact leading to a clearing. As he entered the clearing the young shinobi saw Obito standing there. But instead of the usual cheerful smile, that Obito would always have when visiting him in his dreams, he had small sad smile on his face. Concerned Kakashi started walking toward him wanting to know what was wrong but as soon as he tried to approach him Obito disappeared. Alarmed Kakashi began to run frantically trying to find his friend who had just disappeared right in front of him. As he was going to go back into the forest to search for Obito, a dark figure appeared abruptly in front him. Taking a stance at first, preparing to fight if the dark figure was a menace in any way, Kakashi relaxed when he recognized that it was in fact his former sensei but soon stiffened again when he noticed that his shisho was looking the same way he had when he had died. Some blood was dripping from his mouth and his breathing was jerky. Minato looked at him desperation clear on his face.

"Kakashi please," he said in a weak voice, "please protect my son."

Kakashi felt sorrow fill him as he looked at his former mentor. He fought down the bile that was trying to go up his throat and was about to say something when he heard something that sounded like cries. As he listened more intently he realized that the cries he was hearing were those of Naruto.

Without another thought he ran in the direction from where the cries were coming. He entered the forest once again running with all his might toward the cries but as he got deeper and deeper into the forest, it was getting more and more difficult to move further. The forest's trees mass was becoming more and more dense by the second until it became so dense that Kakashi couldn't advance anymore. Calling desperately Naruto's name Kakashi tried to find a way to move further ahead. Suddenly vines grabbed his ankles and made him fall on the ground where they pinned him, making him unable to move anymore. As he struggled against the vines those ones clung tighter to him making it difficult for him to breath. As he was beginning to fall into unconsciousness he could still hear the cries Naruto going on. 'Naruto' was the last thought he had before being unconscious.

Jolting up from his bed his breathing labored, feeling cold sweat running down his back, Kakashi looked around in alert to realize it had all just been a horrible nightmare. After having regained his breathing and having calmed down, the young man looked at his clock to see that it was 4 in the morning. Hearing some whimpering coming from Naruto's bedroom he got up and went in there to see Naruto awake standing up in his toddler bed with his hands on the bed's bars to support him. Walking up to him Kakashi picked the little blond in his arms. Naruto snuggled instantly into the young shinobi's chest putting his head against the young man's shoulder, still hiccupping slightly.

"Shh there, there angel." Kakashi soothed him while gently rubbing his back, walking slowly back and forth in the room.

After a few minutes Naruto had calmed down and after Kakashi had checked his diaper, he put him back into his crib as the little boy was falling back asleep. As Kakashi felt now too awake to go back to sleep, he decided to go take a walk to the memorial. Since it was still early the sky was pitch black and the air was really cold. Protecting most of his face with a scarf, Kakashi began to walk at a calm pace toward the memorial. When he arrived in front of it he stood there, worry swirling inside him as he remembered the nightmare he'd just had. What could this dream mean? Was it a warning or was it just a dream reflecting his deep fears of one day messing something in Naruto's education?

'This dream is really messing with me.' Kakashi thought wearily running his hand through his unruly grey hair.

As he stayed silent in front of the grave Kakashi felt himself relax. It always had this calming effect on him. Every time he had felt helpless or just worn down by a difficult situation and that he had to escape from everything for a while, the young ANBU member would always come here. Sometimes he would talk to his former teammates like they were in front of him and full of life. Thinking back on his chunin days when he had been a total brat and was looking down at Obito, Kakashi couldn't help but be thankful to Obito for having beaten some sense into him. Even though when he had finally snapped out of this stupid fear of not following literally, the rules Obito had died and he hadn't got a chance to enjoy the newfound relationship he had just formed with the boy. Sometimes Kakashi felt that he was more coming here, at the memorial, to punish himself for having been such a brat and having lost someone who could have become a really dear friend to him.

Realizing that he has been standing there for more than two hours Kakashi decided to go back home, his stiff legs protesting at having been in the same position for so long. When he was back into the coziness of his home Kakashi decided to take a shower before Naruto woke up.

After having had a long hot shower Kakashi went to his bedroom to get dressed and went downstairs to prepare a bottle milk for the little guy who would want to be fed as soon as he awoke. Sure enough soon he heard a whimpering sound that almost sounded whiny. As he entered the little bedroom he saw Naruto stop whimpering giving him a big smile as he extended his arms toward him in a silent request to be picked up. Picking him up from his crib Kakashi then began to walk out of the room toward the kitchen to get Naruto's milk, the little guy snuggling up against him in the same manner that he had earlier this morning with his head resting on Kakashi's shoulder as he emerged completely from sleep. Arriving into the kitchen the shinobi grabbed the warm bottle of milk and gave it to the now fully awake Naruto who took it and began to drink in big hungry gulps. Taking a bowl of cereal for himself, Kakashi took the little boy to the living room and put him on the couch to let him drink his milk while he also ate his own breakfast. As he ate silently with Naruto doing the same with enthusiasm next to him, the young man completely put away in his mind the nightmare he had last night as he enjoyed the peaceful morning.

_Three days later…_

"Again" said a slightly puffing Kakashi as he took a defensive stance.

"Hai sempai." Tenzo nodded panting himself a little as he prepared to charge the other one more time.

They had been going at it for three hours, one trying to land a kick on the other who was paring the kicks thrown at him. Every thirty minutes they would switch places, one would become the attacker the other would become the defender.

Right now Tenzo was the attacker. Without warning he suddenly sprang toward Kakashi and tried to defeat him by attacking him from the top as he jumped in the air. But the older ANBU dodged it and managed to grab him by the collar before placating him on the floor.

"Humph!" Tenzo let out as the air left his lung.

"Sorry I might have I overdone it." Kakashi said with an embarrassed chuckle as he ran his hand in his hair sheepishly.

"It's ok sempai." Tenzo replied standing back up with a wince rubbing his back, "I guess I'll have to train more if I want to get to your level."

"You wanna go at it one more time?" the older shinobi asked looking like he was a bit bored.

"If you don't mind I think I'm in need of a break." Tenzo said as he was resting a bit against one of the walls of the ANBU training room.

"Yeah you're right. Lets drink some water and eat some food." Kakashi agreed walking away toward the benches, where their lunch as well as some water and towels were waiting for them.

The two ANBU members sat and began to take their respective bentos out and dug in. As they each enjoyed their food nothing was said, a comfortable silence falling between them.

"Sempai can I ask you a question?" Tenzo asked after they had both finished their meals.

"Yes Tenzo?" Kakashi replied waiting for the younger man to speak again.

"Is it hard to raise a child by yourself?" Tenzo asked with a curious tone to his voice.

"At times it can be hard and exhausting but at other times it is a lot of fun." Kakashi told him shrugging with a small smile on his face.

Tenzo smiled slightly at the expression of endearment on his superior's half-covered face. He was about to say something when a voice suddenly boomed and resonated inside the room, stopping him from saying anything.

"There you are my eternal rival!" the voice of Guy exclaimed as the two ANBU members could hear the owner's voice approaching them in excited strides.

"Oh crap!" Kakashi grumbled under his breath.

Tenzo who had heard the comment chuckled lightly quickly regaining a blank face as Guy arrived in front of them.

"Hey Guy what's up?" Kakashi asked in a lazy manner slouching against the wall.

"I am here to challenge you. You have one victory over me so I want to settle the score and show you I'm as good as you." the Green Beast of Konoha declared with a grin.

"One more of those challenges of yours." Kakashi said with a sigh then added, "Listen Guy I'm not really in the mood for fighting."

"It's ok we don't have to fight." Guy assured, "We can have a competition of any sort like a running contest or the one who does the more sit-ups."

"Huh ok." Kakashi agreed as he stood up reluctantly, "In that case we will…"

"What is it going to be? A strength contest, an endurance contest?" Guy asked excitedly as he interrupted Kakashi, "Or do you want to do some sumo fighting?"

"…Rock paper scissors." Kakashi finished with a sweat drop.

"WHAT!" both Guy and Tenzo, who had been watching the exchange between the two men with interest, exclaimed with eyes as big as saucers at the choice of challenge.

"But it's boring!" Guy argued complaining, "It's not physical. It's not even based on skills!"

"It's a saying that luck sometimes comes with practice, isn't it?" Kakashi said wanting to persuade Guy and get over with this rapidly, "Plus it will improve your reaction. This is a great challenge."

"I see…" Guy said looking thoughtful.

Tenzo looked between the both of them with a deadpanned expression. He couldn't believe that Kakashi was trying to quickly get this challenge over with and that Guy was buying everything the other man was saying like his argument made sense.

'Those guys are unbelievable.' Tenzo thought sighing mentally as the two continued to argue a bit more before Guy finally agreed to do this.

"Alright I accept." Guy said, "I won't lose to you."

"If I lose, I will run a thousand laps up to the Hokage Mountain!" he declared to the lanky grey haired ANBU.

"Again with your idiotic ideas…" Kakashi said as he looked at the crazy man with his impossible self-wages.

"It's a promise!" Guy told him doing his nice guy pose with his thumb up and big smile on.

"Why do you have to always do your 'special' rules?" Kakashi asked rhetorically, sighing before adding, "Okay lets get this over with."

Both men took a stance as if ready to throw something at each other before they both said loudly "Janken!" and showing the sign that they had chosen. Guy had decided to use paper while Kakashi used scissors making him the winner.

"A thousand laps as I promised." Guy said doing once again his nice guy pose.

"Huh…" Kakashi said a sweat drop rolling down the back of his head as he looked at his self-called rival.

"Well my youthful friends it's been nice to see you again but I must leave and do what I promised to do." Guy said bidding them goodbye before leaving.

"It's getting late, I think I'm going to go home." Kakashi said as he looked at the clock on the wall.

"I'll stay and train a bit longer." Tenzo said.

"Alright. Bye Tenzo." Kakashi told the younger man beginning leave before turning to Tenzo and telling him, "By the way I don't know if I already told you but tomorrow I'm taking the day off."

"Why is that?" Tenzo asked surprised.

"It's Naruto's first birthday so we are going to celebrate." Kakashi replied the corners of his eyes wrinkling slightly as he smiled.

"Okay have fun then." Tenzo said with a small smile before adding, "Bye sempai."

"See ya." Kakashi replied with a wave of his hand.

_The next day…_

"We are back Kakashi-kun!" the called young man heard Inari say, as he was in the kitchen enjoying his morning coffee.

Inari followed by her brother arrived in the kitchen, with Iyashi carrying a large box huffing a bit at the weight while his sister had only a small grocery bag in her hands.

"Ah it feels good to finally sit down." She sighed contentedly as she slumped on one of the kitchen chair, "Walking around carrying stuff is really exhausting."

"That should be my line." Iyashi muttered as he put the heavy looking box down, swiping the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand.

"So what were you doing exactly?" Kakashi asked the both of them with curiosity shining in his visible eye.

"We've decided since the weather is still warm for the season that we could have a teppanyaki party!" Inari declared with a grin.

"More like you decided to have one and I had to follow." Iyashi muttered under his breath once again.

"Did you say something?" Inari asked turning to his brother with a threatening voice as she cracked her knuckles daring him to say anything.

"Nope, not a thing." Iyashi quickly said averting his eyes from his sister with a scared look on his face.

"Sorry but what is a teppanyaki?" the young ANBU member asked interested as he interrupted the two's bickering.

At this question the twins looked at each other before turning to Kakashi with surprised looks on their faces.

"It's a cooking style where you cook your food on an iron griddle, it is a bit like a barbecue grill." Iyashi explained before asking, "Haven't you ever had some?"

"Not really…" Kakashi said feeling a bit uncomfortable under the scrutinizing stares of the two twins who were looking at him like he was an alien or something, "I've never really cooked myself anything and I don't go to restaurants much because it is always a big hassle to eat while making sure nobody sees your face…"

"Hmm makes sense." Iyashi said thoughtfully, "It's just that it is something that family or and friends do at least once in their life. It seemed such a normal and logical thing to have done that I forgot you didn't have much of normal kid's life…"

At this Iyashi gave the young man a sheepish smile.

"Okay guys lighten up! This is no time to get all sad and depressed!" Inari exclaimed in a cheerful voice trying to break the uncomfortable silence, "Today is the little demon's birthday so let's have a celebration!"

"Yes you are right Inari-san." Kakashi agreed with a determined nod giving a small smile

"And please stop calling him a demon." He added in mock chiding tone.

"Well I think it suits him just fine." Inari replied with a stubborn pout.

Letting out a half amused half exasperated sigh at the nurse's childish behavior, Kakashi shook his head bemused wondering mentally how he had managed to become friends with such an irresponsible woman who was supposed to be a grown up.

"Speaking about Naruto where is the birthday boy?" Iyashi asked the young man, "This party is for him after all."

"He is still sleeping but I'm sure he'll be up soon with all the noise we are making." Kakashi said putting his now empty cup in the sink.

Sure enough, five minutes later small noises could be heard coming from the boy's bedroom. As Kakashi went inside the bedroom to retrieve the boy from his toddler bed, the sight of the little angel playing with one of his teddy bears, while waiting patiently for Kakashi to come get him, greeted him.

"Hey you." Kakashi said softly to the little blond as he approached the crib making the boy raise his head toward him.

Naruto greeted him with a big bright smile to which the young man could only smile back at him. Still smiling happily at seeing Kakashi, the boy stretched his arms out, silently asking for the young shinobi to pick him up. As soon as he was in Kakashi's arms Naruto snuggled into Kakashi's chest, slowly getting fully awake. He slowly walked down the stairs and went to the living room where Iyashi and Inari were installing the teppanyaki device on the dining table.

"Here he is!" Iyashi commented with a smile while approaching Kakashi and a still slightly dozing Naruto and said to Naruto as he leaned forward to greet him, "Hey there birthday boy."

In a shy gesture Naruto burrowed his face into Kakashi's shoulder at being addressed by Iyashi.

"Hahaha! Iyashi is scaring children!" Inari said laughing as she pointed at her twin brother.

"Don't worry Iyashi-san he is just very shy." Kakashi reassured him as he gently patted Naruto's back telling him that it was okay, that it was just Iyashi, "I don't know why, but he is like this since a few days."

"It's ok I know." Iyashi told him still smiling, "Kids around this age tend to be very shy around people other than their relatives."

"Hm okay." Kakashi said smiling back at the doctor as he still rubbed soothingly Naruto's back.

"Alright how about we give Naruto his birthday presents?" Iyashi proposed picking a bag with some wrapped presents in it.

After having given a cup of milk to the little guy, they were all sitting in the living room and were giving their presents to Naruto around a cup of tea. Inari had bought him a tambourine about which she said smiling roguishly, that it would annoy the life out of Kakashi when Naruto would play and make noise with it. But the roguish smile was soon lost and turned into one of defeat when Kakashi told her that she was the one who was staying with him all day, and so that she would the one who would have a headache due to Naruto's ceaseless drumming. Then there was Iyashi's present, which was ride-on toy with bee patterns on which Naruto would be able to ride and move around the house with. Kakashi had bought plastic cars as well as a little farm along with farm animal toys so that he could play and learn the animal names as well as their sounds. The little blond was ecstatic with his new toys and was now happily playing at Kakashi's feet with the little plastic farm animals while they were talking to one another in a peaceful and agreeable atmosphere.

They had decided to make okonomiyakis along with some makis that Inari had made and meat, and they had already everything prepared for when the were going to eat. They were now just enjoying their tea while talking.

"So how is your work as an ANBU going Kakashi?" Iyashi asked as he took a sip of his black tea.

Iyashi, as well as Inari, knew of his ANBU status as Iyashi was his appointed doctor. Of course since Inari had to take care of Naruto she had been fully briefed on Kakashi's situation.

"It's going well, my assigned partner is okay and the Sandaime is kind enough to never send me on a mission that takes more than a day to achieve." Kakashi replied with a small shrug, "I'm happy I could take this day off for Naruto's birthday."

"Yeah it must be like a nice breath of fresh air for you to be able to take a day off." Iyashi commented with a compassionate smile.

"And you really needed one Kakashi-kun." Inari added seriously with a small frown of concern, "You haven't had one single day off since you've gone back to duty."

"I know but I actually didn't really need one and I am coming home early enough to stay with Naruto a little every day." Kakashi said shrugging like he didn't care about the situation.

"Tch whatever." Inari replied with a derisive snort, "I'm not going to force you to take more rest. It's your health after all."

"Don't worry Kakashi-kun she's actually not really mad at you, this is just her way to care about you and show her concern." Iyashi told the young man as he chuckled at his sister's childish antics.

"Like I would care about a brat with a mother-hen slash possessive complex when it concerns a certain little blond devil" Inari mumbled turning her head away from the other two.

"Okay, enough with the endearment display." Iyashi said with an amused smile standing up while ignoring the grumbles of his twin sister, "Why don't we set the table and eat?"

With that said, the twins went to set the table and to turn the teppanyaki on while Kakashi prepared Naruto's food and put the little blond into his high chair. After they had done making the okonomiyakis they all sat down and began eating with gusto while happily chatting to one another. They had more food than necessary for only 3 people and a half, if you counted Naruto, but they didn't care as they enjoyed and tasted every dish that was present on the table from the grilled meat to the vegetables, along with the okonomayakis and makis that had been made.

"You know you should try giving Naruto some food like rice and small bites of meat. He has now the teeth for it." Inari told Kakashi as she once again served herself a bowl of rice with grilled meat.

"I don't know. Don't you think it's a bit too early to give food like this?" the young man asked hesitant.

"It's not." Iyashi assured him, "Though you are already giving him a bit of solid food you'll need to give him more and more solid food so that he gets all the nutrients that he needs."

"Moreover look at his face he looks like he is craving to taste what we are eating." Inari added smiling with an amused glint in her eyes.

Kakashi realized that she was right as he turned to look at Naruto whom you could see looking the food the adults were eating with curious dreamy eyes, his little mouth hanging open a bit. The only thing missing was the trail of saliva at the corner of his mouth. It was quite a comical sight to see the little boy with this wishful look on his face like he would like to taste all these sorts of food. After having cut in tiny pieces some grilled meat, Kakashi took a spoon and offered a bite to Naruto who happily took the meat into his mouth and began to chew on it before swallowing it and emitting the request to have more. With a fond smile Kakashi then put a small plate with meat cut in tiny pieces as well as some rice and put it down in front of the little blond, and giving him a little plastic fork to eat with. The little boy then began to eat, happy to have the same food as the adults.

"Well, well looks like the little guy likes this a lot." Iyashi commented smiling at the little blonde's enthusiasm over the new food.

"Yeah I don't think he will ever become vegetarian." Inari joked as she also looked at Naruto quickly eating all of his meat.

When they were done they put all the dishes into the sink and Inari took out of the fridge the birthday cake she had brought and she took it to the living room where they had decided they would eat the birthday cake along with some herbal infusions. As she brought it to the table with a single candle on it, everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to the little blond who was looking curiously at the adults, probably wondering why they were all singing like this. The cake was a small square form chocolate fudge cake covered with deep brown chocolate icing with marzipan orange-brownish maple leaves on it and a small orange fox, also made in marzipan, on the middle of the cake with 'Happy Birthday' written on it.

"Hmm that cake looks really good!" Iyashi commented as his sister served the three of them a piece.

"It really does." Kakashi agreed as he grabbed a spoon and took a bite before adding, "It is delicious Inari-san."

He then picked Naruto up from the floor and sat him on his lap before he scooped some of the cake in his spoon and presented it to Naruto to propose him to taste the cake. Without hesitation Naruto took the piece of cake into his mouth and ate it.

"Is it good Naruto? Is it yummy?" Kakashi asked the little boy as he softly petted his soft blond hair.

"Hmm 'ummy!" Naruto said licking his lips before smiling a very cute smile that made Kakashi and the other two adults in the room smile too at the joy visibly shining off of the little boy's face.

Suddenly a loud crash was heard sounding like someone had forced the front door open. Quickly Kakashi had given Naruto to Inari and had taken a kunai out placing himself in front of Inari and Naruto ready to protect them, while Iyashi who had not really received fighting training still stood ready to fight if he really had to. Soon three ANBU were there, standing menacingly in front of the three.

"What is the meaning of this?" Iyashi asked frowning as he walked to Kakashi's side.

"We are here to do what should have been done a year ago." A voice said from behind the ANBU agents.

The voice belonged to none other than Koharu Utatane, one of the Konoha elders. After saying that both elders appeared placing themselves near the ANBUs, their faces as stern as always.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked in low voice not liking any of this at all.

"We are here to take Uzumaki Naruto and place him under ANBU supervision." this time Homura Mitokado said.

"You have no right to take Naruto away like this. You need strong valid reasons to do it." Inari argued as she glared at the elders.

"Oh we do have reasons to take the child." One of the elders said in what sounded like a satisfied and superior tone of voice, "Naruto is to be taken away because Hatake Kakashi has been deemed unfit to raise him. Moreover he is too much of an indispensable element to our shinobi forces for him to have time to raise a child."

"That's ridiculous!" Inari exclaimed outraged, "He has managed perfectly well to raise Naruto! His duties as a shinobi have had no negative impact whatsoever on his abilities on taking care of Naruto!"

"Yes and that's why he needs a babysitter to live in his house." One of the elder replied sardonically.

"Kakashi is one of our best element. We can't have him slack on his duty because he has to take care of this child." The other elder said haughtily, "This child needs proper care in an environment where he will be protected from others and from himself. In that regard you, Hatake Kakashi, won't be allowed to see this child again."

'No' was Kakashi could think as he stood like frozen at the elders' words. They couldn't take Naruto away from him, they just couldn't. On what authority could they do that? They had just said all their reasons but Kakashi just didn't want to hear them. Life had been so enjoyable with the little blond in his life. He just couldn't forget those moments and most of all he didn't want them to end.

"Listen I refuse to believe that…" Inari began to say shaking her head angrily still holding in her arms Naruto who had began to whimper a bit, scared of the tense atmosphere he could feel in the air.

"Enough! You have no say in the matter. We are taking the child and that's final. Now hand him over to us." One of the elders said in a threatening voice that was leaving no place for arguments as the ANBU agents and themselves stepped forward while Kakashi, Inari and Iyashi took a step back.

But before they could do anything, a voice stopped them.

"Koharu, Homura." The voice of the Sandaime called with a hard edge, "You won't do anything until I say so."

"Sarutobi!" the elders exclaimed anger clear in their voice.

"Sandaime…" Kakashi said his voice a silent plea for the hokage to help them resolve this issue.

"I'm sorry Kakashi." The old hokage told him with a sad sigh, "I was unable to make them change their mind. They went higher to higher authorities. they went to the great council and overruled my decisions concerning Naruto's guardianship."

"But…" Kakashi began feeling his voice on the verge of breaking.

"I'm deeply sorry my boy." The Sandaime said with a sad expression, putting a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, "There was nothing I could do to make the council change their mind."

"But there is something I can do about right now." He added as he turned toward the elders with a stern stare, "You won't take Naruto away tonight."

"You cannot go against the council's decision Sarutobi!" Homura told him menacingly.

"I did not do such a thing. I simply said that Naruto wouldn't be taken tonight." Sarutobi replied calmly, "Today was Naruto's birthday and you dared interrupt the party that they were having for it. So I won't let you take him on this special day. Kakashi will get to have one more night with Naruto in his home, and tomorrow it will not be any of your ANBU agents who will take Naruto to his new home but Kakashi himself."

"But…" one of the elders began to protest.

"This is not a point open for discussion." The old hokage stated firmly, "You are going to have your way so the least you can do is have some decency and let Kakashi have some last moments with Naruto."

"I have a request to make." Inari began to say as she stepped up looking determined, "I would like to volunteer to be the nurse to take care of Naruto."

"I think it is a great idea." Sarutobi said with a small smile.

"Sarutobi she can't be." Koharu protested.

"Why couldn't she?" the old hokage asked with an eyebrow raised in question, "She is a very qualified nurse and moreover she already knows how Naruto functions so she won't even have to adapt."

"Yes but…" Homura tried to argue but was cut off by Sarutobi.

"She will of course abide by your rules and report to you." The Sandaime added to stop the elders from protesting any further.

At the Sandaime's words, Kakashi could see from the corner of his eyes Inari try to hide a cringe. Reluctantly the elders agreed and quickly left the house. As soon as the elders along with the ANBU agents were gone Kakashi went to take Naruto from Inari's arms, hugging the little blond to his chest while murmuring soothingly to the still agitated child who had been stressed by the tense meeting that had just happened.

"Once again I apologize for this situation." Sarutobi told the young man weariness written all over his face, "I'm really sad that Naruto has to live this. I hope we can find a way to take him back from the grasp of the elders but for now we will have to do as they say."

After giving the address where Kakashi would have to take Naruto the next day the hokage left with a last apology and promise to find a solution to take Naruto back. When the hokage was gone Inari and Iyashi went to fix the front door telling Kakashi to stay with Naruto. So as the twins were working on fixing the door, Kakashi walked to the couch with a now calm Naruto in his arms. Putting the little blond on his lap Kakashi tried to collect himself as he ran his hand through Naruto's hair, combing them and pushing them away from the little angel's face who was looking at him with big azure eyes as if asking him what was wrong. Not feeling like he had enough strength to explain to the little boy what was happening, the young shinobi hugged the little blonde tightly to his chest, furrowing his face into the soft blond hair and breathing deeply as if wanting to imprint in his memory the child's scent.

After playing with Naruto for a while at different games as well as also tickling him, in order to hear his laughs and giggles and keep the memory of them safely locked in his head, Kakashi was now lying on the couch with Naruto safely sleeping on his side secured by the young man's arm on which his little head was resting. Kakashi stood up and took Naruto up to his bedroom where, after having changed the child without him even waking up, he put him into his little bed. As he put a small blanket over the little boy, Kakashi could feel sadness swell up in his chest at the idea that this was the last time he was doing this gesture. Sorrow was filling his heart as he thought that this was one of the last time he would see the little angelic blonde's face. Silently the young shinobi walked out of the room and down the stair. Taking his jacket and putting it on, he walked out of the silent house, where everyone was now sleeping, and ran to the memorial in a blind run. He had a desperate need to be at the memorial. He didn't know if it was to be comforted, to find solution or just to be somewhere other than the house where he knew there was a little being who had taken a great place in his life and who was about to be taken away from him. Just as his friends and former sensei had been taken away from him, only this time it was not death that was taking anything from him but the council of Konoha's elders. When he finally arrived to the memorial Kakashi kneeled in front of the memorial not caring one bit about having dirt on his trousers, or looking weak as he looked at the stone carved with a list of the names of people who died while protecting Konoha like it held some answers.

"Sensei, Obito, Rin, guys what should I do?" Kakashi asked in a desperate murmur his visible eye creased with distress.

The only response he got was from the wind that blew for a few seconds making the tree branches shake for a moment before it began raining, hiding the warm tears that were rolling down the young man's cheek.

_**TBC**_

**Okay this chapter was a bit dramatic.**

**I had wanted to write more for this chapter but I thought that this was a good moment to end the chapter. I'm sorry to all those who are angry about what is happening to poor Kakashi and Naruto, and I hope you won't kill me for putting them in such a situation, but if things were always going smoothly it wouldn't be interesting don't you agree?**

**Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and once again for all the reviews you are sending me they really make me happy and I love to read them when I'm a bit down and I want to cheer myself up. :)**

**See ya next chapter!**


	8. As Time Flies

Kakashi stayed on his knees, in front of the memorial, letting his tears of distress and anger at the council fall freely from his face. He didn't want to go back to the house right now knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. If he didn't fall asleep he then would have to wait for the moment where he would have to take Naruto to his new home. Unfortunately dawn arrived and Kakashi had to stand up and walk back to the house. It was a longer walk than the one on the way over to the memorial as Kakashi dragged his feet on the way back to the house, taking detours and wondering in the streets while thinking hard at everything that had happened in the last few hours.

The house was still silent when the young man arrived. Walking to the kitchen and getting himself some coffee to shake himself up a little. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had had this idea as he saw Inari and Iyashi sitting in silence around the kitchen, each with a mug of coffee. When he came in, the twins both turned their head toward him silently greeting him. He nodded at them before pouring himself a cup of coffee and going to sit next to them, his eyes trained on the smooth surface of the table. They all drank their coffee in silence for a moment before Iyashi broke it by turning to Kakashi his face grave but his voice soft.

"We have packed all of Naruto's belongings. We will take them to the place where he will now live." The doctor told the young shinobi receiving a stiff nod as an acknowledgment that Kakashi had heard him, "All you have to think about is to take care of Naruto."

"I'll be there when you arrive with Naruto so that he has someone he knows with him at least." Inari added giving him a tiny smile that was meant to be reassuring, but that almost instantly faltered into a grimace.

"Be brave Kakashi." Iyashi told him putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it in a comforting gesture, "You know that you can count on us if you want to talk or anything else."

With that said the twins stood up and took Naruto's belongings in their arms before leaving the house. Now alone Kakashi sat alone in the kitchen, eyes in the vague as he finished his coffee. Deciding to go take a shower and change into some clean clothes, after having passed the night outside under the rain with his knees down on the muddy ground, he stood up and walked to the bathroom. After having cleaned himself up Kakashi went to his bedroom to put a T-shirt on along with sweatpants. Then as he waited for Naruto to wake up, the young shinobi went to the living room and tried to get his mind off what was going to happen, and had to be done, by sharpening and polishing his weapons. A few hours later he heard noise coming from Naruto's bedroom and went to pick him up.

As usual the little blond was waiting for him to come take him out his bed while playing with his kitsune plush. As usual his face broke out into a smile as he saw Kakashi approach. With a tightening in his chest Kakashi smiled back at the little angel who had no idea what was going to happen. Gently he picked him up and walked out of the bedroom to go get the little boy's breakfast. After Naruto had eaten and had been changed as well as dressed into his favorite orange and black outfit, the two of them played together. Naruto was babbling cutely as he played with his toys while Kakashi was just happy to be around the little blond for a little while longer. When lunchtime was here the young man prepared some chicken curry with a little bit of rice and ate it with the little boy who happily finished all his plate. The afternoon went as smoothly as the morning with Kakashi being around Naruto, making sure that the little blond was happy and having fun. Sadly the evening arrived too fast and too soon it was time to take Naruto to his new home.

Resignedly the young man stood up and went to change into his ANBU outfit. Before walking out of the house he put his mask on and took Naruto by the hand. As he arrived outside, Kakashi noticed Pakkun sitting by the small white fence that was delimiting the house's front yard.

"I'm here to come with you." The small dog told the ANBU member, as he sensed the questioning gaze of his master, before adding with a slightly wry smile his voice showing how sad he was as well about the situation, "Consider me as a moral support."

The young man silently nodded at the small ninken in sign that he appreciated the gesture. They then began to walk slowly, according to Naruto's little legs' pace, Kakashi's right hand in his pants' pocket looking detached though he was just the opposite inside. In the horizon the sun was slowly setting down. After a moment sensing Naruto beginning to tire, not used to walk so much, the young ANBU member took him in his arms and carried him for the rest of the way. When they arrived at the address, indicated by the hokage, Kakashi stopped as an ANBU guard appeared in front of him.

"We were waiting for you." The ANBU said in a flat formal voice, "You hand us the child we will handle things from here."

"I'm sorry but I'd rather have the nurse who is appointed to take care of him come take him." Kakashi replied, in a polite tone though it had a guarded edge to it, as he settled Naruto on his hip.

"Okami-san is busy right now." The guard told him, his tone impatient and sounding a bit harder "Give the child to me and I'll make sure he gets handed over to her."

"You better watch your tongue ANBU, you might be on express order to take this child but I'm your superior and you still owe the respect that is due to me." The silver haired growled menacingly feeling anger at hearing this guard talk about Naruto like he is a thing.

At this moment the door of the house opened to reveal Inari.

"Thank you I'll take it from here. You can go." She told the ANBU guard with a glare before turning to Kakashi with a sad smile, "Would you like some minutes alone to say goodbye to him?"

"That won't be necessary…" Kakashi said trying to keep his emotions in check, "I don't feel like I have the strength to do it."

Silently he approached Inari and handed her Naruto who whined at not being in Kakashi's arms anymore.

"Take care of him." Kakashi told the nurse in a low voice having never been happier to wear his ANBU mask.

As soon as he didn't have Naruto in his arms anymore, the young man turned around and began to walk away.

"Kashi, Kashi!" he heard Naruto call him with a distressed voice as he was leaving.

He could hear the cries and the calls of the little blond follow him for a while, the sounds becoming smaller and smaller as he got farther away from the house. Some warm tears fell from his eyes, as he was unable to restrain them. Pakkun walked silently next to him only giving him comfort by his presence.

'No I shouldn't cry like this!' he thought shaking his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind and scolding himself, 'I've gotten way too sentimental. I should be trying to look ahead and search for a way to take Naruto back instead of crying like a 6 year old.'

At this moment an important decision formed itself inside his head. First, something needed to be done: he had to go see the Sandaime. With this new resolution in mind, Kakashi jumped on a house's roof and began to quickly jump from roof to roof toward the hokage tower. When he finally arrived to the hokage tower and took off his mask the two guards on duty in front of the hokage's office immediately let him through. Apparently the hokage already knew that he would come see him.

"Ah Kakashi I knew you would come." The Sandaime said as Kakashi closed the door behind him.

"You know why I have come here then." Kakashi replied in a weary tone.

"Well I have my assumptions but maybe it would be better if you told me exactly what you want." The old man told him with a serious face.

"I have come here to resign as an ANBU." The young man said solemnly.

"I had a feeling it would be that." Sarutobi said looking at the young shinobi with an impassive face, "So you would be going back to be a jonin correct?"

"Yes." Kakashi confirmed with a short nod.

"Well in that case I think I don't have any opposition to it." The old hokage said with a sigh, "I understand quite well that you don't want to work under the council's supervision anymore after what they have done. Any other request you wanted to make?"

"Actually there is another one. It is about the house I have right now." Kakashi began sounding hesitant, "I don't feel comfortable keeping on living there so I would like to find an apartment where I could live."

"Very well." Sarutobi said nodding, "But I want you to keep the house nonetheless. It was a gift and I think you might want to keep it. You might need it someday."

"Thank you hokage-sama." Kakashi said as he bowed in thanks.

"Come see me tomorrow morning so that we can do the papers for your transfer back to the status of a regular jonin." The Sandaime told him before going back to his papers.

With one last bow Kakashi left the hokage's office and went back to the house for one last night before getting an apartment. As soon as he arrived he began to pack all his belongings, leaving only enough out to make himself something to eat as well as a change of cloth for the next day. When he was done he went to sit on the couch feeling exhausted. A feeling of emptiness was in his chest as he looked at the house that had now only some furniture left inside. It looked like an empty shell that reflected this place in Kakashi's heart. It was lacking a lively presence that would bring some joy and love, and that would make the place glow in a bright light.

Earlier Kakashi had made a decision: whether the council liked it or not he would look after Naruto. Even if he wasn't allowed to interact with the little boy that didn't mean he couldn't watch over him. He had promised Minato that he would protect his son and he would. Even if for that he had to be discreet and let anyone know that he was watching from afar Naruto and protecting him in his own way. Heh! He wasn't a shinobi for nothing after all. After having eaten some instant ramen and taken some sleeping pills to help him sleep, Kakashi dragged himself to his bedroom before collapsing on it and sleeping through the night.

The next day, after he had went to see the hokage, the young man had went to look for an apartment and had found rather quickly a really good one, situated not too far from Konoha's entrance. As he was unpacking and putting his belongings such as his books away, Kakashi's hand fell on the perverted book Inari-san had offered him for Christmas. Looking at it with an amused grimace, he put it away in a corner of the bookshelf and kept putting his things away.

'Like I would ever read this kind of thing.' He thought with a snort.

It was late at night now and Kakashi couldn't sleep. He didn't have any more sleeping pills and had to wait tomorrow to go buy some, which meant he had to find another way to fall asleep and get some rest. He had tried reading a book but he had already read all of the books in his bookshelf and he wasn't really the type to read the same book twice or more. The only book he hadn't read was this perverted orange book…

'No, no I can't believe I'm thinking about reading this kind of book to try to sleep.' He thought shaking his head as if trying to get this idea out of his head, 'But then again…maybe it is so boring that I'm going to fall asleep before the third page…'

Throwing a hesitant glance at the small orange book that seemed to almost glow in the dark, inviting him to pick it up and read it, the young man slowly stood up and went to take the book out of the shelf before going back in his bed. He then began to read it, his eyes narrowing or widening according to what he was reading, his face would sometimes become red as he blushed or he would surprise himself giggling, a manly giggle of course, at some lines of the book. He got so caught up in the book that it was only when the first sun rays hit him that he realized he had read this book until morning.

'Wow… If anyone had told me that I would love this book I would have called that person insane.' The young man thought with a contemplative look on his face, 'But I guess I can't anymore.'

This book had managed to divert him from his dark thoughts over Naruto. Moreover, he was now addicted to this book. He craved to read some more and know what would happen next. But seeing that he only had an hour of sleep left, he decided to at least rest a little to be able to get through the day.

Three weeks later, as he had come back from a C rank mission where he had suffered a minor injury, Kakashi was walking with an annoyed expression on his face in the hospital corridor, as he was led by a nurse toward a room where he would get his injury treated. Really it was just a scratch. Why did he have to go to the hospital for this? When the nurse left him inside the room, Kakashi took out his Icha Icha and began to read while waiting for the doctor to come.

"Good to see you again Kakashi." The Iyashi said as he entered the room.

"Hello Iyashi-san." Kakashi said as well, putting his book away in one of the pouch at his pant's belt, "How are you doing?"

"Wouldn't that be more my question to ask." The doctor teased as he looked at the jonin's injury.

"It's just a scratch nothing life threatening." The young man mumbled.

"Well at least I'm glad to see that your moral is good." Iyashi commented with a smile, "You know you are beginning to have quite a reputation building around you."

"Really like what?" Kakashi asked though he looked completely disinterested by the subject as he looked with bored eyes at Iyashi.

"Apparently you are always coming late to meetings, and you read in public perverted books like the one my sister had given you last Christmas." Iyashi told him with an amused smile.

"But I'm always been coming late for a good reason." Kakashi argued trying to do innocent eyes as he knew that if he was late most of the time, if not all the time, it was because he couldn't stop reading his Icha Icha book over and over.

"So you are really reading the book that my sister gave you." Iyashi said astonished as he looked at Kakashi with surprised eyes before laughing, "My sister is going to be so proud of you."

"Speaking of your sister." The young jonin began, "Would it be possible to meet the three of us together around a drink so that I can talk to her. I would like to hear how Naruto is doing."

"Sure I was going to see her tonight if you want you can come. Like that she will tell you everything you want to know." Iyashi proposed smiling.

Though he had hanged around the house where the little boy now lived during every moment he had been free, he had soon realized that the little blond wasn't let outside the house walls at all. After having done some location rounds to see how the house was built, he had noticed a garden on the back of it. He had come to the conclusion that it was where the little blond must be allowed to go play and have some physical exercise but he had only seen the little blond go out and play with Inari watching over him two times. He really needed to see Inari to make sure Naruto was okay. The nurse was his only source of information concerning Naruto, there was only her who could keep him informed on the little boy's welfare.

_And then…_

"You are reading the book I gave you? Oh I am so proud of you!" Inari squealed excited as she squeezed Kakashi's life out of him in a bear hug, "You are finally becoming a man!"

Earlier Kakashi had met up with Iyashi at a bar where Inari had joined them soon after. After some emotional reunion greetings Inari had asked how the jonin was doing, and Iyashi had been more than happy to tell his sister that the rumors about Kakashi reading Icha Icha in public was true. Now Inari was having a blast teasing and embarrassing Kakashi about it by exclaiming in a delighted voice how she had never been more proud of him and how he was becoming an adult as well as hugging him to death. On Kakashi's part, the young man was quite red in the face partly from embarrassment at the nurse's antics but also because of the lack of oxygen coming into his lungs.

"Inari-san…need air…" the poor young man struggled to say and was trying to squirm his way out of the nurse's grasp.

"Whoops sorry." Inari said chuckling as she released him.

"Yeah like you are even sorry." The young shinobi muttered under his breath.

After that they ordered another round of drinks and began to talk about what mattered most for Kakashi.

"How is he doing Inari-san?" he asked the nurse slightly leaning over the table.

"He is doing pretty good." Inari answered twirling the content of her drink with her straw before continuing with venom in her tone, "Of course those bastards from the council…"

"Language Inari." Iyashi chided her with he a stern look, "We are in public."

"Hmph! Okay those… very annoying people from the council," Inari said getting herself a look of her brother, "What? That was politically correct!"

Iyashi threw another look at his sister telling her to just get on with it.

"Anyway some rules have been put into place concerning Naruto." Inari continued looking at her twin with annoyance at having to watch the way she spoke, "They don't allow me to take Naruto outside of the house and they have ANBUs monitoring Naruto's every move. Even my own interactions with him are watched closely. They don't trust me at all."

Silence was met after what she said. Kakashi was staring into his drink, his thought in a tumult.

"Other than that is he happy? Is he healthy?" he then asked Inari raising his head to look at her.

"He has no health problem and he is as happy as a child who has only one person who is nice to him when all the others just ignore his existence." Inari shrugged though you could feel anger boiling underneath her skin as she talked about the indifference of the ANBUs toward Naruto, before adding in what sounded almost like a growl "I can assure you that if they weren't special ops I would gladly hit them."

"But you know." She added with a small smile, "He sometimes calls for you."

"Really?" the young man asked feeling a sentiment of happiness bloom in his chest as he received a positive nod from the nurse but then his face fell serious once again as he asked, "How was he doing during the first days?"

"Well he was very disoriented as you can imagine." Inari told him her face grave, "Everything was different and a bit scary for him. It took him almost two to three days to eat properly again and he kept on having anguish fits, crying and calling your name. It was a really difficult time."

"Hmm." Kakashi said thoughtfully his visible eyebrow furrowed.

"But don't worry Kakashi-kun I'm making sure he is happy as much as I can." The nurse told him with a reassuring smile.

"I know." Kakashi said as he gave her a weak smile, "At least he has someone who is at his side to support him. I just wish that he could have a normal kid's life."

"We all do." Iyashi said putting a comforting hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

They stayed a bit longer together in the bar before they each parted, each of them having to wake up the next morning and go to work. As Kakashi was walking to his apartment, he thought about how even though it would be a little hard to do anything since he wouldn't see the little blond a lot, he was going to be watching over Naruto's house every time he could. He would do everything he could to protect the little boy.

Five years had passed now, and during all those years Kakashi had done exactly what he had promised to himself he would do. He would go watch over Naruto's house and make sure nothing happened, and he would get news of the little blond from Inari and Iyashi every week. Though he couldn't be close nor talk to the boy, the jonin was glad to be able to at least know things about him and follow from afar Naruto's life. Time had passed rather fast and Kakashi had been happy when Inari had shown him a picture of a now six years old Naruto that she had managed to snap of him under the nose the ANBU guards. Of course he wished he could see the little blond but even after five years of trying to find a way to get him back from the elders he still hadn't find anything. But he still hadn't given up to find a way one day.

Right now he was going to the hokage tower after having received a message that the Sandaime wished to see him as soon as possible.

'Must be important for him to summon me in haste like this.' The young jonin thought as he read his Icha Icha while calmly walking.

When he finally arrived in front of the hokage's office, Kakashi noticed that there were no ANBU guards at the door this time. Finding this odd, he knocked on the hokage's door and opened it after hearing someone telling him to come in.

"Ah Kakashi we were waiting for you." The Sandaime said greeting him with a nod.

"Sandaime." The young man said as he greeted the hokage back with a slight bow.

As he raised his head back up, he noticed two other people in the room. One had short black spiky hair and beard and was smoking a cigarette. The other…well let's just say that Kakashi had wished he wouldn't have to be subjected to the embarrassment of having to see him in the hokage's office…

"Ah my great rival you are finally here!"

Yes. Guy was here too…

"Hey Guy." Kakashi said after heaving a sigh, "I see you've become a jonin."

"Of course my youthful friend!" Guy exclaimed doing his nice guy pose, "I decided it was finally time for me test my worthiness as a shinobi."

"Right right." Kakashi quickly replied only half listening to his self-proclaimed rival.

After having watched the exchange between the two in amused surprise, the bearded man approached Kakashi and extended his hand to him.

"Hi I'm Asuma. Nice to meet you." He said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too." Kakashi replied as he shook the man's hand noticing the Twelve Ninja Guardian sash around his waist and saying, "So you are Sarutobi Asuma huh? I've heard some great things about your capacities as a ninja."

"I'm not that great you know." Asuma replied with an embarrassed smile while rubbing the back of his head.

"Now that you have introduced yourself to each other I am going to tell you why I have summoned the three of you here today." The hokage said after having cleared his throat to get the attention of the three jonin back toward himself.

At those words the three jonin's focus was entirely upon the old hokage and were now intently listening to every word he was saying.

"I have summoned you here because I have a mission of the highest importance that I can only confide to you." He told them gravely before adding, "The mission takes place in the Land of Snow where a group of rogue ninjas are enrolling brigands and are planning to put down the king of this pacific country. Since we have an alliance with this country and because some of those rogues ninjas are from the Land of Fire, it was agreed that we needed to intervene and help to reestablish the peace in this country."

"We understand hokage-sama." Kakashi said with a curt nod.

"We shall do everything in our power to help them!" Guy said loudly with a huge grin.

"Will we have the help of people inside of the Snow country?" Asuma asked gnawing on the butt end of his now faded cigarette.

"In fact they have already suffered quite a loss of men and the remaining ninjas of the country are protecting the villages and the king to prevent the population from getting attacked and pillaged." Sarutobi answered in a concerned voice, "This mission will not be easy to achieve, it will be hard and long."

"How long do you think we will need to accomplish it?" Kakashi asked a feeling of dread crawling inside his stomach when he heard that the mission was going to be a long one.

When the hokage was saying that it was a long mission it usually meant more than 2 or 3 months and the young man already thought this was a long time as he didn't want to be away from the village and especially from Naruto for too long.

"My guess would be one year." The old hokage said with a compassionate look toward the young jonin, "The time to find the rogue ninjas' group, and arrest them all since we have no information where they could possibly be which means that you will have to search the entire country for them."

At hearing this Kakashi's heart sank as he realized that he wasn't going to be able to have any news about the little blond for an entire year, if everything was going according to plan.

"I know it's a long time and believe me if I could send someone else than you I would do it, but you are one of the only qualified jonin for this mission." Sarutobi said gravely, "This mission is important to keep the peace."

"I understand." Kakashi said low with his head bowed, looking at the ground.

'But it doesn't mean I'm liking this one bit.' He added mentally, frustrated.

"Very well, I'll let you go prepare your affairs and I will meet you at the great entrance in an hour." The old hokage dismissed them.

As Kakashi was putting kunais into his pouch as well as explosive tags, and putting his cape and scarf into his backpack for when he would be in the snow country, the young man glanced at the latest picture of Naruto he had gotten from Inari. It showed a smiling Naruto playing with his favorite teddy bear. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt under an orange sleeveless hoodie and kaki green pants. Smiling fondly at the picture, Kakashi took it and put it inside his jacket's front pocket, right in front of his heart.

An hour later, he was at the village's main entrance along with Asuma and Guy, and after having the hokage telling them good luck and giving them last minute's advices, they left.

Glancing one last time at Konoha, Kakashi bid goodbye to Naruto hoping that everything would go well and that he would come back quickly. He then took off toward the Land of Snow where a long and precarious mission awaited him.

_**TBC**_

**Alright! Here is another chapter! Thank you for all the reviews I've received. They are really making my day. Especially those days… my life isn't really the happiest one for the moment with an internship where a boss is one ******* who exploits people by not paying them and needs to belittle them all the time. Sorry about that but it feels really good to let it out. Anyway I hope you liked this chapter and I'll try to update soon.**

**See ya!**


	9. Unpleasant Developments

Snow was falling hard on the Land of Snow today. Pine trees were completely covered in the white powdery substance. It looked like a scene in black and white. There in the middle of those trees, standing on one of the high plateau, in the mountains, was Kakashi. A large scarf was wrapped around his neck that was also covering half his face, and was put over his head like a hood. The wind blowing against his back made the ends of his scarf float in front of him. He was looking ahead of him, scrutinizing the horizon and the valley covered in snow below him.

It had now been two years since he had left Konoha and he was finally able to come back to the village. Those two years had been hell. Not only because every moment of the day he would worry about Naruto but also because this mission had taken much longer than it had been expected. Those rogue ninjas had been a pain to find, as they knew the mountains and forests of this country like the back of their hand. Thankfully they had finally captured them but then the hardest had begun, as they had had to prevent exterior attacks to happen while the trial was being held and the restoration of the country was done. But now it was all done. After they had sent a report of the situation in the country to the hokage, they had finally received today the letter that the jonin had wished for months to receive. A letter where the words: 'You may come back' were written on it.

Suddenly he felt Guy and Asuma arrive behind him wearing a similar scarf around them to protect them from the freezing wind.

"Ready to head home?" Asuma asked, his trademark cigarette between his smiling lips.

"More than ever." Kakashi replied his voice lighter than it had been for months, smiling as he turned toward his two companions.

"Lets go then my youthful friends!" Guy exclaimed as they took their backpack.

With that they began to run in the direction of the Leaf village as fast as they could. All three of them were really eager to go back to their beloved village. Even though it was each for different reasons, two years had been really long and they were more than happy to leave this frozen country. Right now Kakashi was looking at the last picture of Naruto that Inari had given him before he left.

"You must be excited to see Naruto again huh?" Asuma said to him smiling as he watched him look at the picture.

During their mission, bonds of friendship had formed between the three men. They had talked respectively about each other's lives though Kakashi didn't really say anything about his and had talked more about the little blond boy than anything else which had made the two other men tease him to no end.

"Well I won't technically see him but yeah I guess I'm excited about it." The jonin shrugged trying to look carefree.

"Yeah right! You are just fretting like a mother hen at the idea to finally get news about him once again." Guy replied with a laugh clapping a hand on the young man's shoulder, trying to embarrass him.

"It's not this! I'm just concerned to know how much he has grown, if he is happy and if he is eating his vege… Oh bite me!" Kakashi stuttered feeling his cheeks warm in embarrassment, showing an unusual amount of emotions.

"Don't worry everything is going to go well." Asuma told him chuckling internally but choosing to not comment out loud about the show of emotions on the usual stoic mask on Kakashi's fact.

He gave a look at Guy, silently advising him to not say anything about it either, as the fact that Kakashi's mask would fall for even a second showed how much Naruto meant to him.

When they arrived near Konoha, the three jonins went on the main road to pass the checkpoint and get to the main gate. When they finally passed the main gate the head jonin Shikaku Nara appeared and came to meet.

"Welcome back gentlemen." The scarred man greeted them in his deep voice nodding at each of them, "The hokage charged me to tell you that you have today to rest and that he will meet you tomorrow for a debriefing."

"Thanks!" Guy replied with a big smile before taking off to his place.

"Okay." Simply said Asuma before walking slowly away.

Not even bothering for words Kakashi gave a simple nod before taking off to his apartment to quickly put his things down before going to see Iyashi and get a meeting with Inari to have news about Naruto. The little blond must have grown so much for the last two years! The young jonin couldn't wait to hear about him and how he had grown.

Not taking the time to take a shower or just freshening up a little, the young man went to the hospital to look for Iyashi. As he was asking a nurse at the front desk for Iyashi, someone approached.

"Kakashi?" a voice that was familiar to him called.

"Ah Inari-san you are here." Kakashi said feeling happy with a smile as he turned around to face the nurse.

But his smile immediately faltered when he saw the sadly pained face of the usually cheerful nurse.

"What happened?" he asked trying but failing miserably to keep the panic out of his voice, his eyes creased in worry.

"Lets talk somewhere more private." The nurse said looking with narrowed eyes at the gossiping nurses who were leaning to try to hear them.

Silently she led him toward an empty room that she quickly shut behind them after having checked that nobody was around to hear them.

"Alright now explain what's wrong." Kakashi said crossing his arms and tapping his foot nervously while leaning back against the wall.

"After you left for your long term mission everything went fine for a while." Inari began looking weary, "But a year ago the council decided that Naruto didn't need to have someone taking care of him anymore..."

"What!" Kakashi roared in outrage interrupting the woman, not caring one bit for a moment about the people who might hear him.

How could the council dare say or even think that a 8 years old little boy didn't need to be taken care of?

"Kakashi I know you are upset but…" Inari started trying to calm the jonin down.

"But nothing! How dare they do such a thing?" the young man exclaimed before starting to pace angrily before spinning on his heels to the nurse pointing an accusing finger toward her, "And you! Why didn't you stop them? Why didn't you do anything!"

"Okay now you listen to me!" the nurse told him in a loud voice also getting angry, and feeling hurt at Kakashi's accusations, "I couldn't do anything against the council! If it wasn't for the hokage I would not even have been allowed to help Naruto during the first days of living by himself or visit him once in a while!"

"I tried Kakashi I really tried!" she added her fists clenched and tears threatening to fall, "I did everything I could to protect him from the council but I'm just a nurse. You don't how much I want to beat senile old coots to a pulp."

Shaking with anger at the thought of the council Kakashi punched the wall as tears began to fall from the usually more composed nurse's face. After a minute or two of taking deep breathes, trying to calm himself down, Kakashi sat on a chair, his elbows resting on his lap and his chin over his joined fingers.

"Is there ANBU members watching over him?" he asked tensely looking with his brows furrowed, looking at the ground.

"No." Inari answered with a sniff as she stopped crying, getting over herself once again.

"So that means that he is completely on his own." Kakashi said more to himself than anyone as the gears in his head worked full speed. "Then I will have to make sure that nothing can happen whenever I'm away from Konoha and that I can't watch over him."

"If the council think that they can outcast Naruto from everyone and everything they've got another thing coming." He added with a growl.

Standing up Kakashi walked up to Inari, putting a hand on her shoulder making her look at him.

"Thank you and sorry for having yelled at you." He told her with a small sad smile.

"Go and protect him Kakashi." She told him giving him a smile of encouragement.

"Don't worry I'm going to keep the promise I made to my shisho." He said with determination before leaving for his apartment to think about his plan to make sure Naruto would be safe.

Later when he arrived at his apartment the jonin went to have a quick shower and put on some clean clothes. He then prepared himself a sandwich before gathering documentation and papers to work on a plan. Maybe there were some laws in the village's scrolls that would allow him to get the official custody of Naruto. There might be a way to by-pass the council's decision. Even if he still couldn't be the one to be at Naruto's side, he could at least be someone who could be trusted. For hours he combed through the documents he had scattered on the table, taking notes of anything that could help. Having not had any sleep for days he began to feel after a while his eyelids become heavy, his head lolling dangerously on the side, before he slowly fell asleep with his head resting on the table.

The next day Kakashi went to the hokage tower for his mission's report along with Asuma and Guy who were waiting for him in front of the hokage's tower.

"Ah my eternal rival you are finally here!" Guy exclaimed with a big smile.

"Hey Kakashi! Did you get a good rest?" Asuma asked while taking a drag of his cigarette.

"It was ok." The young man shrugged not wanting to talk about what he had learned yesterday.

Asuma and Guy exchanged worried looks at seeing Kakashi looking so down when yesterday he couldn't stay still with excitement. Something must have happened... As a silent agreement they decided to not say anything about it and wait for him to tell them if he wanted to.

"Well let's go give our report to the old man." Asuma said with a smirk before crushing his spent cigarette and throwing it in the garbage.

They then went to the hokage's office where the Sandaime was already waiting for them patiently behind his desk.

"Good job gentlemen." The old hokage congratulated them after the three of them gave him their debriefing. "You have done very well on your mission."

"Thank you hokage-sama." Kakashi said with a small formal voice.

As they were about to leave, the hokage told Kakashi to stay behind for a moment.

"Kakashi I would like to speak with you in private." Sarutobi told him.

"About what sir?" the jonin asked after closing the door and going to sit on a chair.

"Things have happened while you were away and I wanted to…" the old man began to say but was interrupted by Kakashi.

"Yes I've been informed of Naruto's new life." Kakashi replied in a slightly cool voice, frowning.

"Oh good. Well…are you alright?" the Sandaime asked him with a concerned look.

"Not really." The jonin replied in a sigh averting the hokage's worried gaze on him to look out the window, "But I guess I'll just have to deal with it."

"I just hope you won't do anything rash." The old hokage in a weary sigh placing his chin on his intertwined fingers as he studied the young man in front of him, "Though I disapprove greatly their actions the council is only doing what they think is best for the village."

"With all due respect hokage-sama, I'd rather you don't talk about them for the moment." Kakashi said his whole body tense and his fists clenched at the mention of the two elders and their council.

"I understand." Sarutobi said with a nod, "Just don't do anything foolish please."

"I promise." Kakashi nodded looking with great interest at his laps.

"Very well. You can go then." The Sandaime said with a serious face, still studying the young jonin.

With one last salute, the young man left the office and walked slowly out of the hokage tower. He was strolling aimlessly in the street, lost in thought, not paying much attention to anything that happened around him. He could hear children squealing in excitement and adults yelling at their kids to calm down. Some cheerful, lively music was played in the streets and the smell of caramel apples and cotton candy lingered in the air.

'Ah that's right there are itinerant artists who are doing a show here today.' Kakashi remembered mentally as he glanced uninterestedly at one of the posters, placarded on an electric post, that was announcing it.

Right now it was late springtime in the Land of Fire and the weather was nice and hot. Not too hot yet but enough that a jacket was no longer necessary if it was windy.

'This weather reminds me of when I took Naruto to the park for the first time.' The young man thought back fondly, 'He had looked so happy.'

At the thought of the little blond head Kakashi thought at the predicament they were now in. He was now all alone. Sure Inari could go see him from time to time. But the jonin knew that it meant she could only see him in public places such as the hospital where she could be watched on, if her paranoid behavior when he had showed up at the hospital was anything to go by. So she wasn't really of any help to keep Naruto safe.

Speaking of Naruto, Kakashi suddenly heard someone who was approaching cry something.

"Aah no my balloon!" a child's voice cried.

Kakashi saw at this moment a bright red balloon float past him. Without thinking much he grabbed the string that was holding the red balloon, preventing it to go any further. He then raised his head to see a kid with wild spiky blond hair running toward him with two other balloons in hand. With a slight shock the young man then realized that this kid that was coming closer to him was in fact Naruto. He couldn't be mistaken. These three whiskers like mark on each of his cheeks were unmistakable. A rush of emotions clouded Kakashi's mind, as he looked at the now 8 years old boy in front of him. The blond was wearing brown Capri pants and a cream colored T-shirt. When Naruto arrived close to Kakashi he looked at him with a shy, slightly wary, expression. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Kakashi gave a warm smile to the blond and crouched down to be at eye level with the boy.

"Here you go." He told him as he handed him back his balloon.

"Thank you mister." The blond said giving a shy smile though he still looked a bit wary of Kakashi.

The jonin wondered why Naruto was on the defensive like he could get attacked at any moment. Mentally frowning he decided he would discover why the boy was so wary of everything, or in this case everyone.

"You are welcome." He told him warmly before adding in a teasing edge, "Make sure you hold on tight to it now if you don't want to lose it again."

"S'not my fault someone pushed me so it escaped from my hand." The boy mumbled his eyes down to the ground, his feet kicking absentmindedly the dust, while holding tightly against his chest the strings of the balloons, "I even dropped my caramel apple down on the ground."

Kakashi felt a pang to his chest as he looked at the blond in front of him. Life wasn't really good for him apparently. He looked so fragile and lonely. Kakashi wanted to take him in his arms and comfort him. But he couldn't. He wanted to take him to the caramel apple stand and buy him a new one. He wanted to go with him watch the itinerant show. But he couldn't… Right now Kakashi wanted to do everything he could to see a smile on Naruto's face again, but he couldn't because he just knew that there might be ANBUs working for the council who were watching him. One day he would be able but right now he couldn't.

For Naruto right now he was just a stranger. So even proposing to go see the show with him could be considered weird, maybe even creepy, since they technically didn't know each other. So instead he decided to just talk a little with the boy for a moment to hear about him.

"What's your name?" he asked gently.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The boy answered while studying the jonin with his eyes though he was beginning to warm to the young man.

"And how old are you Naruto?" Kakashi asked in an encouraging voice.

"I'm 8 years old and next year I'll be going to the Academy dattebayo!" Naruto said proudly smiling.

'Dattebayo? Oh man we now have a mini Kushina-san…' the jonin muttered internally though a bit amused.

"Is that so?" he said to Naruto with a soft smile, "So you want to become a shinobi huh?"

"Yeah! I'm going to become the strongest shinobi of all time!" the boy exclaimed with a grin.

"For what purpose do you want to become the strongest?" Kakashi asked seriously, knowing that the answer would tell him Naruto's actual state of mind.

"So that people will fear and respect me." The blond replied.

'That's what I was afraid about.' He thought with a sigh, 'There is a small distance between him and revenge. I just hope he won't cross it… I'll make sure he doesn't.'

"Well that's one high goal you have." He commented in a light tone before taking some change from his pocket and handing it to the boy, "Here is some money to buy yourself another caramel apple and some candy."

"Really? Thank you nii-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"It's nothing. Just be careful to not get cavities from eating too much sweet." Kakashi replied with wink before getting up to leave, "Good bye Naruto."

"Wait! Aren't you going to go see the show? Maybe we could go see it together…" the boy shyly proposed with an hopeful gleam in his eyes, and pink tinting his cheeks as said that.

Once again the young man felt his heart tighten painfully at the wishful proposition that Naruto was doing to someone he didn't know, but with whom he felt enough at ease with to propose something like this.

"I'd have loved to but unfortunately I can't. I have some business to attend to." He said hating to see the sad look that was on the blonde's face and added not wanting to see this rejected expression anymore, "But maybe we'll see each other again some time."

Naruto's face brightened at this and nodded enthusiastically before taking off to not miss the show.

Kakashi watched the boy go off, happy to have been able to see the kid even for just a few minutes and talk to him. It was more than he would have ever expected. It was with a lighter foot that Kakashi walked back to his apartment, more determined than ever to find a way to regain custody of Naruto and screw the council if they thought that he was not allowed to see him. He would protect the boy even if he wasn't allowed to interact with him and that's exactly what he was intending to do until he found a solution to get the blond back.

**TBC**

**Alright! So now Kakashi is back from his oh-so-long mission, and the council once again did something to our poor little blond and our silver haired jonin.  
**

**I hope that you liked this chapter though it is a bit short but I preferred to stop there. And just to give you a quick taste of what is about to come, I'll just say that in the next chapter Naruto will start at the Academy. ;)**

**See ya!**


	10. Kakashi's scheme

Somewhere in a three-room apartment, on the top floor, a certain little blond was preparing himself for his first day at the academy.

One year had passed and it was now finally time for Naruto to enter the academy. While the boy was pretty excited to go there to see kids of his own age and make friends, he wasn't too fond about all the learning he would have to do. Inari nee-san had already taught him some basic stuff such as the history of Konoha but he didn't care much for that. What he was looking forward to was to learn how to fight and throw kunais. After having taken his bento and some prank material for his future teacher, Naruto walked out of his apartment with a confident grin.

'Academy here I come!' he thought mischievously as he closed the door of his apartment behind him.

Kakashi was walking, or more like running, from the training grounds where he had had early taijutsu training with Guy. He was heading back to his apartment to take a quick shower before going to the academy to watch Naruto's first day. He had been up all night too excited about the fact that tomorrow was Naruto's big day, like he was the one who was entering the academy for the first time. Since he couldn't sleep, he had gone dragging Guy out of bed for a training session as soon as the sun had begun to rise. Though dragging Guy wasn't the appropriate term since the man, who was always wearing a green jumpsuit, had already been up and had eagerly accepted Kakashi's proposition.

When he arrived at the academy the young man realized he was a little early regarding the planned hour of when the students are supposed to arrive. He settled himself comfortably on the branch of a tree that was standing in the academy's yard, hiding him well from anyone who would pass by and took out his Icha Icha to wait for the students to arrive. Moments later he heard the first new students along with their parents arrive. He recognized his superior Shikaku Nara with his son Shikamaru, as well as Hiashi Hyuga with his daughter and Fugaku Uchiha with his younger son. The latter two being part of clans being on the list of the clans whose views Kakashi disliked the most.

The Hyugas had this ridiculous notion that the members of the main house were better than the ones from the branch house. This archaic way of thinking was enslaving the branch house, binding them by force to serve obediently the main house until their death. This was a disgusting practice that Kakashi hoped would one day disappear. But for that it needed the head of clan to change things and it would not be easy as Hiashi Hyuga was one cold and proud man. The jonin looked at the little girl who was the future heiress of the Hyuga clan. She looked really shy and introvert. He had heard that the Hyuga kids, especially those of the head of clan, were trained from the tender age of 3 in a very hard and strict way. No mistakes or weaknesses were accepted. He felt really bad for her as he imagined she did not have an easy life.

Then his gaze came upon the leader of the Konoha military police force as well as the leader of the Uchiha clan. Though the Uchihas were, on the contrary of the latter clan, really united, they also had some ridiculous expectances of their offspring and Fugaku was a great example of that. His eldest son was a genius who was already a member of the ANBU, and because of this, high expectations were put on the younger one about becoming like his brother. And according to what Kakashi could see Fugaku only accorded attention to success, which meant that the kid had to stand out in his shinobi performances to get the recognition of his father. The silver haired man didn't know whom to feel sorry the most for as he looked at the kids on whom the burden of heavy expectations was already put on their shoulders.

As kids were arriving with their parents, the young man finally saw a patch of blond hair appear. He watched as Naruto arrived, an excited expression on his face. A warm feeling spread inside the jonin as he watched the little blond looking so excited. His eyes narrowed though, when he spotted some women looking with disgust about Naruto, making comments about how he was the "thing" that the hokage had allowed to integrate the academy.

'Stupid hags.' He thought as he glared at them, then after he had made sure that they wouldn't do anything to harm the boy the young man let out a sigh and leaned back against the tree. As he watched Naruto, the jonin remembered the talk he had had with the Sandaime about his reason to put Naruto at the Academy.

_Flashback_

"_Why did you put Naruto at the academy hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked the old man in curiosity more than worry, as he sat on a chair in the hokage's office._

"_Naruto needed to have something that would make him become less of an outcast of Konoha." The Sandaime said as he was looking outside the window, "Making him become a ninja was the best solution I thought for him. I believe that the Yondaime wanted Naruto to become someone important, a hero of some sort. By making Naruto follow a shinobi training he has the opportunity to make something of himself and be recognized by the people of Konoha."_

"_I see." The young man said as he looked pensively in front of him, reflecting on the hokage's word, then a thought crossed his mind, "So I guess you are the one who gave the idea of becoming the strongest ninja of the village to Naruto."_

"_Yes and no." The old man answered as he turned away from the window to face Kakashi, "The boy already had the idea of becoming someone important because he wants to be acknowledged by the villagers. Not many career paths lead to fame. It was only logical that he would choose this path. All I had to do was tell him how important shinobis' existence was to the village."_

"_Well I hope this was the right thing to do." Kakashi said holding back a sigh inside him, "I don't want to see him suffer because people don't want to accept him even he is a shinobi."_

"_Talking about seeing Naruto," the hokage began with a smile and teasing twinkle in his eyes, "I heard that Naruto met a rather nice jonin who caught his balloon before it flew off and gave him money to buy some treats. Would you happen to know who that might be?"_

"_No idea." Kakashi replied in a fake nonchalant voice as his eyes quickly averted the hokage's amused gaze._

"_Well I think it's good that you have contact with the boy. Though I think I don't need really to tell you, but you need to be careful to not be too conspicuous about it." Sarutobi told him._

"_I know Sandaime." The jonin said crossing and uncrossing his fingers absently in a nervous manner, "I hadn't really planned on seeing him at the time, but I might see him again... I want to..."_

"_Of course you do. It's totally natural." The Sandaime said as he put a hand on the young man's shoulder._

"_But I'm afraid the council will interfere again." Kakashi said in an almost desperate voice as he looked up at the hokage._

"_Yes they are quite nuisances concerning Naruto." The old man sighed sitting down behind his desk and intertwining his two hands together in thought, "Though I don't think they could do anything about it. They already obtained all the requests they had formulated concerning the boy, and I already told them that they would not interfere in Naruto's life anymore."_

"_Naruto needs an adult figure. Someone he can look up to and who would treat him nicely. This is another reason why I wanted him to enter the academy. A teacher is exactly what he needs to keep him in line and rooted to reality." The old hokage continued with a serious look before adding with a wishful face, "Hopefully this will also lessen the amount of pranks…" _

"_Pranks?" Kakashi asked curious._

"_Naruto has become quite a prankster during last year." Sarutobi began, "His favorite prank is to spray paint on the hokage monument."_

"_Huh?" the grey haired man said hesitating between feeling dumbfounded and amused._

"_Well since I assume you'll be once again watching over him from afar, I think you'll see his prankster side when he goes for his first day at the academy." The Sandaime said, an impish smile._

_End flashback_

The Sandaime been true to his word as Kakashi saw Naruto put the blackboard eraser in balance on top of the classroom door, which had automatically fallen on the homeroom teacher's head, efficiently covering him in the white powdery substance of the chalks. Kakashi felt slightly concerned about this kind of behavior from Naruto. The boy wasn't even bothered to be punished. He was grinning proudly. It was like it was some kind of reward. Like it was some kind of recognition of his existence. The silver haired man hoped that this behavior would change after some time at the academy. Only time would tell…

After that, the rest of the day had went on smoothly as Kakashi had watched Naruto's first day in class from a tree near the classroom where he had been able to see the blond through the window. He watched him learning about the different hand signs and chakra fluctuation as well as weapon training. The young man had not remembered that his first kunai training had been this messy and he was glad he was away from the danger range. Though he wondered if he was really that safe up in the trees with some of these kids, and decided that it should only be taught after at least a month in the academy when a shuriken planted itself next to him on the tree trunk. Naruto had been goofing around all day long, trying to get attention from the others. The teacher had yelled and scolded him while the students had laughed and snickered at his tomfooleries. The jonin's eyes had narrowed, as he didn't like the way the teacher had this disdainful look on his face when looking at Naruto. It was this kind of behavior that made the other kids avoid, belittle and make fun of him.

'Adults are the ones who need to show the example to kids on respecting others.' Kakashi thought a feeling annoyance and anger beginning to bloom inside him as he looked at the teacher. 'Maybe I should have a talk with him.'

At this thought the young man remembered with anger how he had caught one time some villagers surrounding Naruto in a street's corner who had been about to harm him. The jonin recalled with a smirk how he had made sure that those men as well as the entire village understood the fact that they were not to touch a single strand of Naruto's hair. It had happened yesterday, the day before Naruto's big day. People had been upset when they had learned that the hokage had pushed Naruto to join the academy and were more daring in approaching the boy than before because of this anger and hatred.

_Flashback_

_The sun was setting on Konoha and the village was bustling with the nightly activities of people going back home or stopping at a bar for a drink or two and others eating out. _

_Naruto was walking back from the hospital where he had gone to see Iyashi nii-san and Inari nee-san. Whom the latter had whacked him upside the head, when he had dared to say that she was too old to have a boyfriend, calling him a disrespectful brat before sending him home saying that he shouldn't be out at this hour. The blond boy was now walking in a very poorly lit street, in a nonchalant manner, his hands in his pockets when five men appeared in front of him, their faces partially hidden by the buildings' shadows. _

"_Get out of here! You shouldn't be here!" one of them said nastily._

"_I am just going back to my apartment." Naruto replied feeling uneasy with the men who had threatening faces and were beginning to surround him. "Moreover the street is to every body."_

"_You don't get it. You shouldn't be living in the village. We don't want you here." One of them told him, his voice full of disgust and hatred._

_Wide eyed at the harsh hurtful words, Naruto began backing away from the men who were getting nearer from him like a trap slowly closing on its prey. Feeling fear prickle along his neck and down his spine, the little blond realized there was no way to escape those men as he saw them getting closer and closer. _

"_Mah such a loud group of people." A voice suddenly startled the group of men, as well as Naruto, making them turn toward the direction where the voice had come from, "It's a really coward thing to attack a child nonetheless with 5 adults."_

_The voice was the one of Kakashi who had been walking in the area. He had heard some women in the street talk about Naruto, complaining about the fact that a child with such a dangerous demon inside him shouldn't be living in their village. Normally he wouldn't have paid attention to them, as he already knew what were the things the villagers were always saying when talking about the boy. But this time, he listened carefully when one of the women said that she had seen him just a minute ago walking in the streets. Wanting to see the boy if only from afar, the young man had begun to walk at a faster pace in the direction Naruto seemed to have gone. That's when he had walked into the scene of these men who were bullying the boy._

"_Mind your own business!" a man braver than the others told Kakashi as he tried to look intimidating, "That thing shouldn't even exist!"_

_It was the wrong answer to give, as in a matter of seconds the men surrounding the blond boy were knocked down to the ground. The jonin had taken Naruto away from them and was now kneeling in front of the boy. _

"_Are you alright?" he asked him his hands on the boy's shoulders while checking if he had been hurt._

"_Yes I am mister. Thank you." The boy sniffed as relief flowed into him after having felt scared before the mysterious man in front of him had arrived._

_Naruto couldn't see the face of his savior because of the lack of light but the voice seemed familiar to him. It was a deep comforting voice that made him feel safe and warm inside. Though he couldn't place where he had seen this man before, he couldn't help but feel like he had met him before._

"_Good." the warm voice said sounding like the man was relieved, "Then go home. I'll take care of those men."_

"_But…" the boy tried to protest but was cut off by Kakashi._

"_Go." Was the curt but stern order the jonin told the boy, as he didn't want the boy to see what would happen next._

_Not because it was going to be violent or anything. But Kakashi didn't want Naruto to witness this particular talk between him and these men._

"_Okay." The boy mumbled before running in the direction of his apartment._

_The young man stood up and watched Naruto fade into the darkness as he got farther away from them. When he couldn't see the boy anymore he turned back to the men who were still on the ground who were now looking at him in fear. If before they had been intimidated by the jonin's presence, they were now completely frozen in terror._

"_W-who are you?" one of them asked._

"_Who I am is not important." Kakashi replied as he took a step toward them, his threatening aura making the men in front of him back away from him more and more._

"_What is more important is that you have tried to harm this boy." He continued, his tone dangerously low._

"_He is a demon!" a man retorted loudly as if it explained everything, "He shouldn't be allowed to walk freely in the village."_

"_Yeah! He should be locked up!" another one exclaimed._

"_Enough!" the silver haired jonin bellowed a murderous intent washing over the now trembling men, "You are despicable. What right do you have to call this boy's existence an abnormality huh?"_

_Kakashi arrived right in front of them and crouched to look at them with narrowed eyes that promised a painful death if they didn't do as he wanted them to. _

"_Tell every body in the village that no one is allowed to harm Naruto. If anyone ever dares to harm him in any way, I will personally take care of this person." He told them in a low cold voice._

_After that he walked away from them and disappeared into the night as he jumped onto the roofs thinking that he must have got his point across._

_End of flashback _

After Naruto's first day at the academy had ended, Kakashi went to a bar where Iyashi and Inari were waiting for him.

"Hey Kakashi! Over here!" Inari called in a loud manner as soon as the jonin arrived in the bar, motioning for him to come with her arms.

"How have you been?" Iyashi asked with his usual calm smile on his face as Kakashi sat at their table after having ordered a beer to a waitress that was passing by.

"Good." The lanky young man shrugged nonchalantly, "What about you?"

"I am well." The doctor said leaning back in his chair relaxed before asking with a smirk, "So how did Naruto's first day at the academy go?"

"It went well… if you don't count the numerous stunts he pulled." Kakashi replied a little embarrassed.

Apparently every body he knew suspected that he was watching over Naruto.

"So you have been watching Naruto the entire day while he was at the academy?" Inari asked rhetorically at this moment with a snicker.

Not saying anything Kakashi fiddled with his glass of beer.

"Aw little Kashi is blushing! It's so cute!" Inari cooed drunkenly while giggling.

"Excuse her. She had a little too much to drink before you arrived." Iyashi told the young man chuckling, a little amused, "Her boyfriend dumped her."

"Hey hey! I did not get dumped!" the drunken nurse argued in an outraged pout, "I broke up with the bastard!"

"Sure it is sis', sure it is." His twin said dismissively with a wave of his hand.

Kakashi looked amused at the twins' familiar friendly bickering, or more like Inari whining and complaining in her brother's ear while the latter remained calm and stoic. The young man was very grateful to have those two in his life. They were important to him. They had been there in good and hard times for the last nine years. He didn't know how he would have done without their support concerning Naruto.

"By the way," Inari said startling the jonin from his thoughts with a grin that promised nothing good, "There is a weird rumor about a man following Naruto like his own shadow, who is keeping an eye on him. Also the brat told me that some mysterious man saved him from a scary group of men yesterday."

"Oh really?" Kakashi said trying to faint surprise.

"Yeah. Apparently he had a lanky figure and his face seemed to be partly covered." Inari added her grin getting wider as she noticed the young man slightly squirming uneasily.

At this Kakashi didn't say anything, knowing it was useless to feign ignorance when the nurse obviously knew for sure it was him.

"Ah hah! I knew it!" she exclaimed in a triumphant manner pointing a finger at the jonin, "You've been stalking Naruto all this time. You are a stalker!"

Kakashi felt his cheeks darken in embarrassment at the nurse drunken last statement. As much as it was entertaining, when Iyashi saw Kakashi's mortification. He took pity of him and decided to intervene before his sister, who definitely had had too much to drink, would make the silver haired man die from embarrassment at being called a stalker in a public place.

"Alright I think it's time to get you home Inari before you make further a fool of yourself." The doctor said picking his sister up from her chair and began to try dragging her out of the bar.

"No! I don't want to! Let go of me!" the nurse whined like a two year old while trying to tug her arm free of her brother's grip.

After struggling to try to get her to follow him out of the bar and having lost all of his patience, Kakashi watched as Iyashi picked his sister up and threw her over his shoulder to carry her out of the place.

"See you soon Kakashi. Take care!" Iyashi told the shinobi with a smile before leaving.

"Bye Kashi!" Inari slurred smiling too and waving goodbye at the bemused jonin.

Kakashi watched them leave the bar before shaking his head in amused perplexity at Inari always drinking too much and Iyashi being the one who had to drag her back home before she did anything shameful.

'It's good to see that some things never change.' He thought with a smile before putting money on the table for his drink and standing up to leave to go to his own apartment and have some rest.

The next day, early in the morning, Kakashi went to the hokage tower to get his next mission. When he arrived everybody was already there. Among the persons present the jonin recognized Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi, as well as a member of the Hyuga clan called Tokuma that he remembered from having had missions with him before. Two more persons that Kakashi had never seen before were standing in the room.

"Glad to see you join us Kakashi." The Sandaime said, "We can now begin the meeting. But before I tell you about your mission, I'll present you your teammates."

"I believe you already know Kurenai, Anko and Tokuma here." He continued motioning with his hand at the trio.

"Hello Kakashi! Long time no see huh!" Anko said with one of her easygoing smiles.

"Nice to see you Anko." Kakashi replied with nod looking at her with slightly wary eyes.

Though she was a great kunoichi, he couldn't help but think that she was up to something every time he was seeing her. Moreover her behavior was unpredictable.

"Nice to see you again too Tokuma-san." He said to the Hyuga clansman who replied with a nod in acknowledgment.

"Hello Kurenai." He then said turning toward the other dark haired kunoichi before asking with a teasing glint in his eyes, "How is Asuma doing?"

"H-how should I know?" the woman retorted a pink hue tinting her cheeks as she spoke.

"As much as I like hearing about my son," Sarutobi intervened hiding an amused smile, "I think we should get back on the topic you are all here today for."

"Of course Sandaime I'm sorry." Kakashi said with a small apologetic bow.

"Good. Now let me introduce you to Hayate Gekko and Iruka Umino." The old hokage presented the two other shinobis standing there, "Since you are the commanding officer for this mission, you should know that Hayate is a tokubetsu jonin so you might want to take this in consideration when deciding on your mission tactic."

"Nice to meet you Kakashi-san." Hayate said with a nod, which Iruka imitated with a bow of his own.

"Same here." Kakashi replied as he looked at the man called Iruka who was the only chunin with Kurenai in the room, and who looked like he did not fit on a battlefield, or in any situation that needed any type of violence for that matter.

'Well looks can be deceiving.' He reasoned internally before returning his focus onto the hokage who was about to give them their instructions.

_Later that day in the early evening…_

The mission had been a disaster. This mission that had initially been a B rank had turned into an A rank in a matter of seconds as ninja forces from an enemy village had suddenly shown up. Kakashi was now on top of the hokage tower along with the Sandaime debriefing about the mission. The sun was setting in the horizon making the sky glow of a light red and orange light, making the jonin feel uncomfortable as it reminded him of the fact that some of his men had been injured because of his tactics' mistakes.

"Kakashi, how is it that you were there but still…?" the old hokage asked as he looked upon the village of Konoha, his hands behind his back.

Kakashi was standing very straight behind him, in a formal military way.

"I'm so sorry." The jonin apologized, "I missed with the formation. I should have kept him with me."

Kakashi was referring to Iruka, who had been the one to put the mission as well as is teammates in danger. The jonin knew he should have followed his instincts when he had felt that the brown haired young man was too soft and too sensitive for a shinobi. Suddenly, the silver haired shinobi felt someone behind him approaching. From the corner of his eyes he saw the figure of Iruka walking to them, recognizing his chakra signature.

"Oh, Iruka. How are your injuries?" the old hokage asked as he turned around to face the scarred man, his brows furrowed.

"It's nothing serious." Iruka replied looking sheepish, "Thank you for your concern."

"Good job with the mission earlier." Sarutobi told him with a soft voice though his eyes were serious and stern with concern, "You should take some time off to let your wounds heal properly."

Next to them, on the side, was standing Kakashi who watched them as Iruka and the hokage were talking, the young man looking uneasy under the scrutinizing gaze of the Sandaime.

"Sandaime, this time it was all my own responsibility." The brown haired man said then glanced at Kakashi, giving him a small apologetic smile, "The commanding officer is not to blame."

"I know that without even hearing it from you." The old hokage replied.

"H-hai." Iruka stuttered straightening up.

"Iruka, you've always been very kind." The Sandaime began sternly, "And I believe this time, that kindness was detrimental in a crucial moment against enemy ninjas. There may come a time when that personality may put the lives of your friends in danger."

"Yes, I thought I knew my personality well enough." The young man said in a small voice, closing his eyes briefly as if he was admonishing himself.

"Well there's nothing we can do about that now." Sarutobi told him, his brows still furrowed, "Also for your next mission…"

"Sandaime!" Iruka interrupted him surprising the old hokage as well as Kakashi who turned his head toward him looking curiously at the new determination that had just lit the chunin's eyes, "Actually, I would like to talk with you about that…"

"What is it? Tell me." The hokage told him.

"Sandaime, do you remember what you told me," the chunin began to ask, "that time after my parents died, in front of the Hero Stone Monument, regarding the Will of Fire?"

"Of course I remember." Sarutobi said.

"What you told me back then has helped me endure the endeavors of my training and my missions." Iruka said in a grateful tone of voice, his eyes lighting up with passion as he added, "I believe I want to teach the future generations of shinobi about the Will of Fire."

The Sandaime smiled at these words.

"What? Are you saying that you want to become an instructor at the Academy?" he asked in a content tone of voice, smiling.

"Yes, if I can." The young man said with a smile of his own.

Kakashi looked with interest at the chunin and the life that was sparkling in his eyes as he talked about becoming an Academy teacher.

'Interesting.' He thought, an idea slowly forming into his head about how this man, who looked to have had a childhood very similar to Naruto's, could help him and be the adult figure the boy needed.

"Okay, from tomorrow you will start assisting teaching staff at the Academy." The hokage told the brown haired chunin.

"Really Sandaime?" the scarred young man exclaimed not being able to contain his excitement, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm reminding Kakashi of the way a certain little blond acted when happy.

'Yes,' the lanky jonin thought at this instant, 'He is the perfect choice to be a father figure for Naruto.'

"I'll tell you tomorrow morning which class you will be assigned to." The old hokage told the Iruka, "For now get a good night's rest to be ready for tomorrow."

"Hai." Iruka said excitedly, saluting before leaving.

After the young chunin had left, Kakashi stepped up to the hokage.

"Sandaime," he began to say, "I have a request to make."

"I'm listening." He told him waiting patiently for the jonin to continue.

"I would like you to appoint Iruka Umino as Naruto's homeroom teacher." He said.

"Oh," the hokage said raising an eyebrow at hearing this, his voice holding a mix of surprise and wonder, "and what is the reason for this demand?"

"I just think that he is the best suited, considering his childhood background, to understand Naruto and help him grow in a good way." Kakashi explained looking at the old hokage straight in the eyes with determination, "Remember what you said to me some time ago. Naruto needs an adult figure in his life. This man is the perfect choice for this role."

"I see." Sarutobi said looking intently at the jonin before continuing, "Very well then. I will make sure that Iruka becomes Naruto's homeroom teacher but I need to warn you that it might be a difficult task to make him agree him to it and even more to make him regard Naruto not as the Kyubbi."

"Thank you hokage-sama." Kakashi said bowing, relieved, though a feeling of apprehension was also spreading though him as he too felt that this would not be an easy task.

At this moment the lanky jonin decided that he would keep an eye on Iruka.

Two days later, Kakashi was crouching on his usual spot, on the branch of the academy's tree, looking at the window of Naruto's class. All the students had arrived and Naruto was already doing mischiefs as the jonin watched him put the blackboard eraser on top of the classroom's door. Three minutes later the classroom door opened, revealing Iruka in front of whom the eraser fell, missing his head. When the chunin finally realized it was Naruto's doing he took a step toward the boy.

'Bad idea.' The silver haired man thought as he watched the brown haired man enter the room before he slipped and fell on the floor.

In addition of the eraser, Naruto had spread some oil in front of the door so that if the first prank didn't work this one would. Iruka didn't not react well, as it was obvious he would. But the curious thing was that he completely ignored the boy and told him to go take his seat. He didn't react either when Naruto fell asleep during class, nor when the boy changed the time on the clock to make it look like it was break time. When other children made fun of him, telling him that he was nothing but an annoyance and a germ for just being alive, the only thing he said was "don't bother with this kid". Sighing heavily Kakashi watched in disappointment the normally known gentle and kind chunin acting distant and disdainful toward Naruto. After a few days, when he saw that the situation was getting nowhere near better, Kakashi decided that he needed to do something about it. He would go talk to Iruka. Due to the way he was treated, Naruto had decided not to go to the Academy anymore and the jonin wanted to remedy to this situation.

One day, the chance to do so presented itself, as he was sitting on a tree branch, his back leaning against the tree trunk reading his Icha Icha book when Iruka, who was walking back from the hokage's tower looking upset, went to sit on the bench next to his spot.

'This is my chance' the lanky jonin thought.

The chunin beneath his tree let out a weary sigh.

"Hey! That's my special seat." Kakashi called the scarred young man, making the latter raise his head to look at him, before adding coolly, "If everyone were to take a deep breathe this close to me, I'd be interested, and then I won't be able to read my book, now will I?"

"I'm sorry." Iruka apologized standing up to leave, "I'll move right away."

But before he could go anywhere the silver haired jonin jumped and landed right in front of him, efficiently blocking his way.

"No wait. I was about to leave." He told him looking at him with his bored look on his face, closing his book and putting it away in his pocket, "See you around."

As he pretended to leave, Kakashi felt Iruka sitting back on the bench. Stopping, he turned to the chunin to look at him as the young man was leaning, his elbows on his laps with his forehead resting on his hands, hiding his face in his palms.

"What's wrong." the jonin asked him, "You don't look too good."

At this Iruka straightened up a bit, putting his hands on his knees looking at the ground.

"I'll listen to what you have to say, if you don't mind." Kakashi proposed.

"The thing is, I became _that_ Naruto's…" the chunin began before correcting himself, "Uzumaki Naruto's homeroom teacher."

At that Kakashi only let a sound of acknowledgement to Iruka's words, inciting him to go on.

"Earlier, I wanted to ask the Third if he could relieve me as his teacher," the brown haired man continued putting once again his elbows on his laps, resting his chin on his intertwined fingers, "but he wouldn't see me… I have no idea how I'm supposed to get closer to Naruto… I'm not qualified to teach Naruto!"

After saying all this, the chunin took his head between his hands looking lost.

"I see…" Kakashi said looking at the sky, "So that's why they're dead…"

Iruka looked at him in utter confusion, his eyes shining in slight shock at the words the jonin had chosen.

"Your eyes. When you had talked about becoming an Academy teacher with the hokage, your eyes had had been full of life." The silver haired man explained to the stunned younger man then told him trying to keep his voice not accusatory, "The eyes that sparkled back then are now dead. If you don't open your own heart, others will not open up to you. Did you forget that obvious truth already?"

"No, you're trying to forget it, aren't you?" Kakashi asked rhetorically trying to stay calm and composed.

"The Kyubbi sealed within Naruto is responsible for the death of my parents. Of course, I know that Naruto is not to blame for what happened. " Iruka said exhaling wearily, with his eyes closed, "But every time I see him, I'm reminded of the Kyuubi that is sealed within him. How can Naruto open up to someone like me?"

"You're the only one capable of opening up Naruto's heart." The older man told him leaning up on his elbows.

"That is..." he began to say as he got up and turned toward him, "That is your ordeal."

"Ordeal?" the chunin asked his brows slightly furrowed.

"Yeah, given to you by the Sandaime." He replied looking at him, knowing that this would make the young man react, "So try your best a little longer. If you do, something's bound to happen. What if you tried to live up to the Sandaime's expectations?"

"See you around." Kakashi told him with a small wave plastering on his face one of his forced fake smiles, before leaving the chunin to his own thoughts.

'The rest is up to him.' The jonin thought as he was walking away from Iruka.

And it had indeed worked as a few days later. While Naruto had gone up the hokage's mountain in the forest when enemy ninjas were still around, getting himself in danger, Iruka had ran after him and saved him. The silver haired man had been pleasantly surprised and happy to see that his talk with the younger male had worked so well. Kakashi felt happiness swelling up inside of him at the idea that Naruto had now someone who cared about him. Someone who would guide him and be the father figure he never had.

It had now been a year since Iruka had began to get closer to Naruto, who was now in the middle of his second year at the Academy. Though people were still slightly heinous toward him, the boy looked happier than before. Kakashi had seen him having ramen with the chunin two to three times a week. He was happy for the boy but he couldn't help but feel sad that the little blond didn't need him anymore. Right now the jonin was lying on the grass by the riverbank, reading one of his Icha Icha books. At this moment Pakkun appeared near him.

"What are you doing?" Pakkun asked his master sitting next to him.

"Reading." The silver haired simply replied, turning the page of his book.

"No. I mean why are you not with Naruto? Why are you not looking over him?" the ninken asked sternly.

"He has someone by his side now." The lanky shinobi said, adding with a sigh, "This teacher, Iruka Umino, is now here for him."

"So what? It's not because the pup has now another person who cares about him that you don't have any part in his life anymore!" the ninken replied with a growl.

"He doesn't remember me." Kakashi mumbled turning his back to the ninken before adding in a sad tone, "I've been away from him for too long. All I've ever done for the past 10 years is watching over him from afar, without him ever seeing me."

"Oh get over yourself! You look like a big baby!" Pakkun exclaimed annoyed, "You seem to have forgotten that there no longer is a ban over you about approaching Naruto. The Sandaime has made sure of that."

"But I don't know how to approach him." The jonin replied in an almost whiny voice, "I can't just come to him and act all friendly. Coming from a 25 year old, it's a little creepy."

"Use your head once in a while. In a year and a half, Naruto will graduate from the Academy and become a genin." The ninken told him, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "You can sign up to become the leader of a genin team. Like that you could become the leader of Naruto's genin team. You'd be able to see Naruto on a daily basis. Seriously Kakashi for a prodigy, you can be really slow sometimes."

"Hmm that's an idea." Kakashi said thoughtfully ignoring the pug's snarky comment, "Like that I could start anew with him, get to know each other and bond."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Pakkun asked him fidgeting impatiently, "Let's go to the hokage tower to sign up for it."

"You look a bit impatient. I didn't know you were so excited to see Naruto again?" the jonin asked with a smirk.

"Of course I am!" the ninken huffed indignantly, "If you recall, myself and the pack have had to look after him a few times. I like the pup. He is family."

"I know." The lanky silver haired said with a soft smile before standing up on his feet, "Well let's go."

With that said, followed by Pakkun, Kakashi began to run and hop on the roofs toward the hokage tower with excitement at the prospect that he would see Naruto again.

_**TBC**_

**Hyuu! Pakkun acting all angry and bossy on Kakashi! :D **

**Sorry for the delay on this one but things kept coming in the of the story was inspired by one of the fill in episodes of the anime that I found really interesting. Thank you everyone for the support this story is getting and for all the alerts, favorites and reviews I am getting. They really make my day. It makes me feel warm inside when I read them. **

**Anyway I hope you liked this chapter. **

**See ya next chapter! ;) **


	11. Team 7

**Okay I officially allow you to trample me to death for taking so long to update (okay not really but you can yell at me if you want... just not too much please... =P). Anyway since I took so long to update a new chapter you get a long one. I'm not really satisfied of this one and I had a bit of a hard time to write it but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.** **;)**

Today was graduation day at the Academy, the day Naruto was finally graduating. Kakashi had come back from a mission the day before for this occasion. He heard from the Sandaime that Naruto had failed at the graduation's exam and that as a result he had let a chunin named Mizuki talking him into stealing the forbidden jutsu scroll that was kept in the hokage's tower. At hearing this, the normally cool and composed jonin had almost lost it with worry and was ready to run out of the room and track down the damn chunin who had dared try to hurt the little blond. The hokage had calmed him down by telling him that Iruka had gone after them and had rescued the boy once again. Kakashi was happy of the decision he had made to choose Iruka to be looking after Naruto. This forbidden scroll had had the positive effect to make Naruto graduate. The boy, who had had difficulties with the clone jutsu, had managed to pull the skills to master the shadow clones jutsu in a nick of time. The silver haired jonin had been impressed at this news and had felt pride swell inside him for the boy as he thought that he might have the capacity of becoming a great ninja.

Right now he was in the hokage's office, standing in front of the Sandaime who was sitting behind his desk, signing some last minute paperwork.

"I wanted to see alone before the other team leader jonins arrived to talk about the team that you'll have." Sarutobi told Kakashi as he was looking at the him, "As promised you will be the leader of the genin team in which Naruto is. You will also have Sasuke Uchiha under your care."

"Uchiha Sasuke huh?" Kakashi said pensively in a low voice.

"Yes and you'll have a lot of work with those two as I'm sure you already know." The old hokage said, "Since the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke has been withdrawn on himself with his mind in a really somber place. As for Naruto, though he is clumsy and acting a bit idiotic at times, he has some real potential."

"Now come with me." The Sandaime told him as he stood up, motioning the silver haired man to follow him, "I would like to show you where Naruto lives."

The lanky jonin followed him silently, curiosity with a spike of impatience burning inside of him at the prospect of seeing where Naruto lived. They arrived at a four stories apartment complex. The building did not look well kept, electric wires could be seen on top of it, and surrounding it. They went into a one-bedroomed apartment. The place was a mess with dirty clothes, and dirty dishes as well as empty potato chips bags all over the floor.

"So this is Naruto's house…" Kakashi said as he looked around, walking into the kitchen that was also the living room.

The breakfast had not been put away and was still on the kitchen table. He picked the milk carton that was on it, and noticed that the milk had gone bad a couple days ago.

'He is going to have a stomachache if he drinks this…' the silver haired jonin thought hoping internally that the boy had not drunk some.

"As you'll also have Sasuke, the last member of the Uchiha clan, in your group. I think you'll have your hands full for a while. So good luck!" Sarutobi told him in a serious voice, though you could hear an underlying amusement at Kakashi's new predicament.

"Yes sir." Kakashi said deadpanned.

'I don't know why but I have a feeling that this could become very troublesome…' the young man thought, as he felt that maybe he shouldn't have wanted to become Naruto's sensei so hastily since he would have to also take care of the Uchiha brat.

The next day in a class of the academy, while all the other genins had already gone with their sensei, three genins remained, waiting for their sensei to come get them. Walking back and forth impatiently in front of the classroom's door was Naruto, who every once in a while would stick his head out of the classroom and look to see if anyone was coming.

"Naruto just sit down or something!" Sakura told the blond annoyed by the pacing.

"Why is our team 7 sensei so damn late?" Naruto exclaimed before adding sulkily, "All the other teams have gone with their sensei's."

The blond boy had been so excited to become a genin, to be on a team and start missions that the fact that the fact that their team leader had still not appear was getting on his nerves.

He wanted to start as soon as possible! After all if he wanted to become hokage, he had a lot of work to do before getting to this level. Yep! He intended on becoming hokage! When he had heard from Iruka-sensei that the hokage was the strongest ninja of the village, he had automatically decided that to be acknowledged by everyone in the village, he would show them that he was the strongest of all shinobis by becoming hokage.

Finding that their new sensei was taking too much time to arrive, an idea appeared into Naruto's head making him grin mischievously.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Sakura asked as she approached the blond who was placing the board eraser on top of the door.

"He he he. That's what you get for being late." Naruto replied jumping down from the table he had been standing on.

"Geez… I'm not involved." Sakura said with her hands on her hips looking at this with a disapproving look on her face.

"Hn like a jonin would fall for such a stupid booby trap." Sasuke said barely turning his eyes toward the said booby trap.

At this moment the door slid open and the head and upper body of Kakashi appeared through the doorway. The board erased fell on top of his head, covering the top of his head with chalk powder.

"Hahaha you fell for it, you fell for it!" the blond exclaimed triumphantly pointing at the now slightly chalk white haired jonin.

While Naruto was laughing, proud of his prank, with Sakura apologizing about Naruto's behavior and Sasuke looking at him like he couldn't really believe that he was a jonin. Kakashi looked at his future new students, taking a breath in, preparing himself to do what he always had fun to do with potential new students. Though he really wanted to be around Naruto, he was not about to take those three kids under his wing if they didn't pass the test to prove themselves worthy of becoming ninjas. For this purpose he had to act cool and harsh at the beginning so that they would know they couldn't fool round with him and that they needed to be serious. He was not going to go easy on them.

"Hmm.. How can I say this..?" he began to say, rubbing his masked chin in a pensive pose, his eye upturned into a U showing the fake smile he used when around people that weren't people he cared about, "My first impression is... I don't like you guys."

At hearing this Naruto and Sakura's face fell, looking slightly crestfallen and Sasuke's head was downcast, black bangs hiding his facial expression though Kakashi was sure that inside he must have felt the same as the others. After that, they went on top of a building where there were trees on. The three genins sat on the stairs, facing Kakashi whose back was leaning on the railing of the building.

"Well let's begin with introducing yourselves." Kakashi said his arms crossed.

"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked.

"How about your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future and things like that." Kakashi proposed.

"Hey why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" Naruto told him who was looking at him with a curious frown on his face, like he was scrutinizing him.

"Yeah you look kind of suspicious…" Sakura added looking reserved about her new sensei.

"Oh…me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake... " Kakashi began to say with a lazy voice, "I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes... dreams for the future… Hmm and I have lots of hobbies…"

The silver haired jonin heard, with hidden amusement, the pink haired girl mutter to her two teammates about the fact that the only thing they learned was his name.

"Now it's your turn," The jonin told them before looking to his right toward Naruto, "let's start on the right."

"Yosh! My name is Naruto Uzumaki." The blond began to say with a smile, touching his forehead protector while talking, "What I like is cup ramen. What I like even more is when Iruka-sensei pays for my ramen. What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the ramen to cook…"

'Does he only think about ramen?' Kakashi thought a bit flabbergasted at the kid ranting about ramen but stops when he hears the rest of the kid's introduction.

"…and my dream is to surpass the hokage and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!" Naruto continued with a determined look and a confident smile on his face.

At this, Kakashi's eye widened a bit, his face showing surprise before returning to its expressionless facade.

'He's grown in an interesting way.' He thought feeling proud at how mature the blond looked to be.

"Hobbies...pranks I guess." The blond finished nonchalantly.

'I see…' the silver haired jonin sighed internally while scratching the top of his head, his feeling of pride at Naruto's seemingly mature behavior crushed with this last sentence.

"Next." He said turning toward Sasuke, who since the beginning had his elbows resting on his laps, with his hands crossed together hiding the lower part of his face, only showing what looked to be a permanent scowl.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are lots of things I dislike, and I don't really like anything and…I can't really call it a dream…" the dark haired kid began to say, "but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and…to kill a certain man."

'Like I thought.' Kakashi muttered mentally, his eyes narrowed, 'I'll have to keep an eye on him. I have a feeling that it's not going to be easy with this one.'

The pink haired girl introduced herself as Sakura Haruno. During her introducing it was clear that this young kunoichi was more interested in love than in ninjutsu.

'I wonder why she wants to become a shinobi…' the jonin thought with a sigh, his chin resting on his hand's palm while watching the girl acting all giggly around Sasuke.

"Ok! So far for the introductions." Kakashi told them, "Tomorrow we'll start our duties as shinobi."

"Yeah! What kind of duties!" Naruto asked excitedly almost bouncing up and down, "Duties! Duties!"

"First we are going to do something with just the four of us." Kakashi began to say.

"What is it? What is it?" Naruto asked leaning eagerly to hear what they were going to do.

"Survival training." simply said the jonin.

After explaining them everything and having fun freaking them out a little and putting them under pressure, Kakashi told them to meet him tomorrow morning at the third training ground without having eaten before bidding them goodbye. The three genins then went back to their respective houses to prepare for tomorrow's training that would decide whether or not they would become genins.

Naruto was walking home, his eyes looking at the ground as thoughts were spinning in his mind. Nervousness was forming a knot in his stomach at the prospect of tomorrow's survival training.

'I can't fail here...' The blond thought with a look of determination on face, 'I'll have to show Kakashi-sensei all I've got, and make him recognize my strength.'

Kakashi-sensei… This man seemed so familiar to Naruto but the boy couldn't put his finger on it. He felt as if he had already met this man but every time he tried to remember where he could have met him something seemed to stop him from doing so. His deep voice had struck in Naruto a feeling of serenity. Which is weird considering how creepy and mean the man had been with him and the other two. The blond hoped that he wouldn't be like that all the time when he would officially be on his team. This man was so enigmatic... Naruto wondered what was under this mask of his.

'Oh well… Guess I'll find all that out with time. I'll get to know more about him as we do missions.' The boy figured mentally with a shrug as he entered his apartment, 'Right now I need to focus on doing my best tomorrow. I didn't go so far to fail to become a ninja now! I worked too hard for that!'

"Yosh! I'm going to show them how strong Naruto Uzumaki is!" the blond exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air.

With that said Naruto began to train with a motionless doll, supposedly representing Kakashi in earnestness, one thought dominating his mind: I'm not going to show them all.

The next morning, the blond arrived at the third training ground still a bit sleepy. Out of nervosity he hadn't been able to sleep much. But it might have also been because he had trained late in the night, wanting to be fully prepared for today's test. The fact that Kakashi-sensei had also forbade them to eat breakfast, because of the intensity of the training that they were going to do, was not helping him in fully waking up at all. Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the same time at the training ground but there was no sign of their sensei. They waited and waited, and waited… Until finally, after having waited for three hours, Kakashi finally arrived.

"Hey guys! Good morning!" Kakashi said in a joyful tone.

"YOU'RE LATE!" both Naruto and Sakura yelled at him.

"A black cat crossed my path, so…" the silver haired jonin began to explain, with a smile that showed not even a hint of embarrassment or remorse for arriving so late, but he soon stopped seeing the murderous looks of the three genins, clearing his throat and taking on a serious face, "Let's move on..."

He walked to a stump and put a clock on it before activating it.

"Ok it's set for noon." He declared before turning toward the three genins who were looking at him and the clock with intrigued looks on their face.

"Here are two bells." He told them, taking said two bells out from his pocket and showing them, "Your task is to take these from me before the time is up."

"Those who don't have a bell by noon…gets no lunch." He explained further to them, adding in a sadistically happy tone of voice, "I'll not only tie you to one of those poles but I'll also eat right in front of you."

'So that's why he told us not to eat…' Naruto thought desperate and stunned as he felt his stomach rumble in protest at the idea of not eating at all.

He then explained to them that since there are only two bells, there would automatically be one of them who would be sent back to the academy. He also told them that every kind of weapon or ninjutsu technique was allowed.

"You won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill." He finished with this phrase looking at all of them in the eyes.

"But! You'll be in danger!" Sakura argued with a worried look.

"Yeah you are so slow you can't even dodge a black board eraser!" Naruto added with an uneasy laugh, his arms behind his head, "We'll definitely kill you!"

"In the real world those with no talent often bark the loudest." Kakashi said, deciding that he needed to taunt Naruto a little if he wanted the blond to get serious though he didn't like what he was doing one bit, "Well…Ignore Mr. deadlast and start when I say…"

Before he could finish he saw Naruto taking out a weapon and beginning to charge him. He had struck a sensitive nerve. Humiliation and rage could be read on the boy's face but Kakashi knew that he had had to do this. He just hoped Naruto wouldn't hold it against him. Quickly he ran behind Naruto, grabbing his hand holding the kunai to stop it and putting a hand the boy's head in a gentle but yet firm manner. The hand on top of his head was telling the blond to calm down, that he meant no harm but that at any violent movement he would handle him, while the hand that was holding the hand with kunai showed how Naruto's life was in Kakashi's hands. All of this was just a match of strength where it was shown whose power was dominating.

"Calm down. I haven't said start yet." Kakashi told him with a softer voice before adding with a content voice, "Well it seems that you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill."

"Hehe it seems like I'm beginning to like you guys." Kakashi commented with a small smile before releasing Naruto and taking a step back, busying himself with tying the bells up to his waist.

"Pshh guys." Naruto called his two other teammates.

"What is it Naruto?" Sakura hissed in a low annoyed voice.

"There is no way can defeat him individually." Naruto told them and then proposed tentatively, "Why don't we team up and attack him together. Like that we are sure to get the bells…"

"Hn! I don't need any of you to slow me down while I take one of the bells." Sasuke replied haughtily before walking away.

"He is right, this is a competition. You are such an idiot Naruto!" Sakura huffed before following Sasuke as he walked toward Kakashi, who was waiting for them.

Hanging his head down in hurt at the words of his teammates, Naruto walked to them, shuffling his feet in the dirt. He had been ready to propose himself as the one who would not receive a bell because he just wanted to work together with the others but they had rejected him before even hearing him to the end. Well if they were going to be like this all right. He would show them and get a bell before any of them! He was not going to lose. He would get a bell and become a shinobi!

"Ok let's get going." the jonin continued, his face becoming serious, "Ready…Begin!"

They all quickly scattered at Kakashi's starting call. The silver haired jonin was now standing in the middle of the training ground and was happy to observe that every one was well hidden. Well every body except one… Naruto had decided to face him off. The young man couldn't help but feel flabbergasted at the boy's loud attitude.

'Oh well…might as well have some fun.' He thought when the blond began to charge him, slipping his hand purposefully slow into one of his side pouch so that the boy could clearly see his action.

Naruto stopped abruptly when he saw the jonin's hand going for something in his pouch, watching every of his moves warily.

"Shinobi fighting lesson number 1, taijutsu." Kakashi said in a fake bored voice making the boy look at him confusedly, feeling a smirk creeping up on his face, "I'll teach you about it."

Then suddenly he took out his Icha Icha Paradise, dumbfounding Naruto who looked at him with an even more confused look on his face.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and attack me!" Kakashi told the hesitant blond.

"But… Hey! What's with the book?" Naruto asked.

"I just want to know what happens next." The jonin said as if it was the most logical thing in the world before adding in an absent tone of voice, "But don't worry, it won't make a difference against you guys."

At this, the hot-tempered blond saw red, a vein popping on his forehead, and charged the silver haired jonin and jumped into the air with the intent to hit him. Kakashi blocked it easily with one hand. The boy then tried to land a kick that the older man dodged this time. This game of blocking and dodging continued a bit longer before Kakashi, who was getting bored of this game with the blond whom was becoming more and more frustrated about not landing a kick. He dodged another punch from the boy, reappearing behind him, his hands in a position with his index and middle fingers against each other and the other fingers folded. Despite Sakura's warning cries, Naruto was not quick enough to react before Kakashi powerfully thrust his fingers up, aiming the boy's ass, while saying dramatically: "Hidden leaf ancient taijutsu supreme technique: A 1000 years of pain!".

With a yelp of pain, while clutching his butt, Naruto was thrown into the river. Though his position and face didn't show anything, Kakashi was laughing his ass off internally at how ridiculously funny it had been. But now the fun was over, they needed to get serious.

And so the battle for the bell went on… In the end, even though not one of them managed to get a bell, Naruto was the one to get tied up at the pole for having tried to steal the lunch food. Kakashi had been disappointed at the genins' behavior, or more precisely; mostly at Sakura and Sasuke's behavior. He had watched how Naruto had tried to work as a team but the other two had rejected his offer and had worked solo. After that, Naruto had felt so hurt and excluded that he had stubbornly played it solo as well, which resulted in none of them getting a bell. After that, he had been proud to see that what he had told them about teamwork had been taken into consideration. This is how he saw, as he had supposedly left them to eat lunch, Sasuke and Sakura sharing their lunch with Naruto.

Sasuke and Sakura… Kakashi wasn't too sure about how to handle Sasuke yet. Contrary to Naruto's bubbly and warm personality, Sasuke was cold and distant, never showing his emotion, and with a certain darkness inside his heart. It could become quite troublesome if the kid was to keep inside him this dark kind of mood. As for Sakura… Well let's just say that she'll need to soon stop fawning around Sasuke and work more on her ninjutsu skills if she wants to progress as a ninja. The jonin had almost thought she would have tried to attack him for pinning Sasuke to the ground when he attacked him after saying that they were kids who didn't deserve to be shinobis. She had yelled at him to let go of Sasuke and not step on him. He hoped this was not going to be like that all the time or he would have to put things down clearly.

Hidden behind a tree not too far from them, he watched the three of them for a little while longer, as Sasuke, and then Sakura, seemed to understand what he had told them as they decided to share their meal with Naruto. A sentiment of pride and happiness went through him as he was watching them.

'Hopefully a bond will grow between them.' The jonin thought a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he could hear the happiness and gratitude in Naruto's voice at Sasuke and Sakura's gesture.

When Naruto began to eat some of the food, Kakashi decided that it was time make his big theatrical entrance. Quickly doing a series of hand signs, he appeared in front of the genins in a whirlwind of dust and leaves.

"You guys..!" He roared with a scary face and his hands on his hips, the whole thing giving a very dramatic effect, before his face broke into a smile and said in a softer friendly tone, "..pass."

"Huh?" was the immediate response of Naruto and Sakura, who had shrieked at the jonin's scary apparition.

"Pass? But why?" Sakura asked with an astonished face.

"You guys are the first," Kakashi said, getting an even more taken aback look from the three genins, "Everyone else would just do whatever I told them. They were all just morons."

A look of understanding dawned on them as Kakashi's words sunk in.

"A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash." The young man continued in a low, gentle tone, "But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash."

Naruto looked at the lanky silver haired man with big eyes filled with admiration.

'He is so cool…' he thought in awe.

"That ends the training. All of you pass." The jonin declared with a nonchalant smile, giving them a thumb up, "Ok! Starting tomorrow Team 7 will begin its duties!"

"Yay! I did it! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto exclaimed loudly with excitement.

Sakura was jumping up and down in glee while Sasuke only had a smirk of contentment to show his happiness.

"Alright let's untie Naruto and if you want," Kakashi began to say, "I'll treat you all to a meal to celebrate your official promotion as genins. But first I have a meeting to go to. What do you think?"

"Yeah food!" Naruto said with face splitting grin wriggling against his binds in impatience.

With a soft smile of endearment Kakashi watched the blonde's happiness show as if it was glowing all around him. This kid had so much energy inside him. He was so lively and his smile just irradiated so much warmth that the jonin's heart felt the warmth seep into him as well.

After having untied Naruto, they all began to walk back toward the village. Suddenly they saw a figure far off, running toward them. As the figure got nearer and nearer, they soon recognized Iruka as the one approaching. The brown haired chunin arrived in front of them looking a bit disheveled and alert.

"Iruka sensei what are you doing here?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Well I… I was here because hum…" the chunin said looking flustered and puffing.

Kakashi looked at the younger man suspiciously. Something in his face features and his moves seemed odd. His movements were fidgety and he kept glancing nervously toward him with a wary gleam in his eyes.

"Kids why don't you go ahead. I have something to talk about with your sensei." Kakashi said turning to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, giving them one of his fake smiles, "I'll see you later when I'm finished with the meeting. Let's meet in three hours in front of the hokage tower."

"Okay." Sakura said, "Goodbye Iruka sensei. Se you later Kakashi sensei."

Sasuke only gave them a nod before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Iruka sensei let's go eat Ichiraku ramen some time! See ya!" Naruto told his former academy sensei before walking back home.

When they were all gone, Kakashi turned toward Iruka with an eyebrow raised in question.

"So… What brings you here Iruka-sensei?" the jonin asked politely.

"T-the hokage showed me the list of your past students which showed that you have never passed a student..." The chunin said scratching the tip of his nose embarrassedly.

"…And you wanted to make sure Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto had managed to pass my test right?" the older male finished for him with a neutral voice though annoyance was creeping inside him.

"I might have wanted to see if they were ok." The younger male mumbled fidgeting uncomfortably under the silver haired jonin's gaze.

Kakashi let out a sigh, closing his eyes for a second, before looking back up at the fidgeting scarred chunin.

"Though I'm touched that you care so much about them," He said his eyes narrowing slightly, "they are now genins as well as my students. I have my methods and I do not appreciate people trying to meddle with them."

"I've known those kids for a few years now and I know what they are capable of. I wanted to make sure they would be given a chance to prove themselves." Iruka argued with an angry fluster adorning his cheeks.

"That may be so but in this case I am the only one making the decision." Kakashi replied coolly, "Now if you'll excuse me I have a meeting the hokage and the other jonins who are taking care of the new genin teams."

With that said Kakashi walked away without waiting for a reply and began to run, as he knew he was going to be late for the meeting.

"Wait!" Iruka protested following after him, running not far behind, "I'm not done talking to you!"

This is how Kakashi arrived at the meeting, with Iruka behind him, complaining and trying to talk with the jonin who was ignoring him.

"What's the matter gentlemen?" Sandaime asked his eyebrow rose in question, with the rest of jonins looking at them curiously.

"Kakashi-sensei here doesn't want to hear me out about the three genins that are under his care and their potential." Iruka said a small blush adorning his face in embarrassment, suddenly realizing where he was and that everyone looking at them.

"Well let's first hear what Kakashi has to say about his three genins shall we?" the old hokage said calmly turning to Kakashi expectantly.

"Of course hokage-sama." Kakashi said straightening up, "After having put them through my test, I decided that the three of them were fit to become shinobis."

"See Sandaime he has stubbornly… Wait you did what?" the brown haired chunin exclaimed astonished as he realized what the older had just said.

"You heard me." The jonin told him nonchalantly his hands in his pockets, "Your beloved students are now officially part of team 7."

"Oh…" Iruka simply said his face going red with shame at his earlier outburst, "…Okay. Well in this case I apologize for my assumptions. I should now take my leave and let you have your meeting in peace."

Bowing respectfully to the hokage and the jonin assembly, the younger male left without another word. After each jonin told if they had passed the genins they tested today. In the end only two other genin teams, aside from Kakashi's, were formed. One of them was under the supervision of Kurenai while the other one was under the care of Asuma. Kakashi had been really surprised when he had heard that Asuma would become the leader of a genin team. Then again, the bearded man was one of he most patient man Kakashi knew, so the jonin was confident that he would make a great sensei.

The meeting then ended and Sarutobi asked Kakashi to stay behind to talk.

"So Kakashi what do you think of your team?" the hokage asked lighting his pipe before looking intently at the jonin.

"Sakura shows some potential but she is too preoccupied with fawning over Sasuke to develop it." The jonin said, hoping internally that she would grow and try to progress instead of turning around Sasuke.

"Sasuke is really gifted." Kakashi continued as he remembered the fire jutsu the kid had used during the training, "I'm sure he will go far in life but I'm a bit worried about the dark side there is inside him."

"Everyone has a dark side inside himself Kakashi. You know that better than anyone." The Sandaime reasoned as he reminded Kakashi of the state of mind he had been in after his father had died.

"I know but it seems to expand more and more inside this boy." The silver haired man replied with a serious frown.

"Well let's hope then that being with the other two, that being with teammates, will change him in a positive way." Sarutobi said with sigh, exhaling smoke through his nose, he then looked up at Kakashi with kind eyes and asked, "And what about Naruto?"

At this Kakashi's features softened and a smile crept on his face.

"Compared to the others his abilities are really low but he has a tremendous amount of energy, perseverance, and determination." He said, his tone of voice warm.

"Hmm that's good to hear." The old hokage said smiling.

"I'm sorry hokage-sama but I have to go now. I have to meet with my team." Kakashi told the old man, preparing to leave, "I told them I would treat them to a dinner to celebrate the formation of team 7."

"Very well." The Sandaime said with an approving nod, "We'll see each other tomorrow for team 7's first mission."

Earlier, while the jonins' meeting was taking place, Naruto was resting in his apartment. He had taken a shower and eaten a snack while relaxing on his bed, waiting for the time to meet the others to come. While he was munching on some chili flavored potato chips, the blonde boy thought about his new sensei. Though he hadn't looked really nice at first, he seemed to be friendlier now. He also seemed to like reading some kind of perverted books and he was freakishly strong! He was at a level that Naruto couldn't wait to reach. Naruto remembered when he was fighting Kakashi. At that time the jonin's words had stung deep inside him and had fueled the blonde with a rage to force his team sensei to acknowledge him as Iruka sensei had. This is how Naruto had attacked Kakashi upfront with 7 shadow clones jumping out of the water and running toward him. But it only had made the jonin impressed for a moment as not even a minute later he told him that this technique would not be enough to beat him. That's when Naruto surprised the jonin by showing an uncanny unpredictability as he sneaked behind the unsuspecting jonin and jumped on his back, locking his arms with his to prevent him from moving. At this moment, Naruto had jubilated at having the upper hand for a small instant. But the instant soon ended as when Naruto tried to land a hit, the silver haired man had managed to switch places with one of Naruto's clones.

When he had been on the jonin's back he had felt the strong muscles working, moving underneath him. It had been a broad and strong back that had showed how powerful the man was. The boy couldn't have helped but blush at having been so close to the man that he could smell the strong warm scent of sandalwood that was coming off from the man and that enveloped him. This man intrigued and fascinated Naruto. He wanted to know more about him. He wanted to know where this feeling of safety was coming from. Why did he feel so warm and safe around this man? Noticing that it was almost time to meet up with the team. Naruto got up quickly putting a T-shirt as well as a pair of pants on and left his apartment, determined to ask questions to Kakashi sensei and learn things about the man.

After meeting up with Sakura and Sasuke, they waited for their sensei for more than half an hour before the man finally arrived.

"Good evening…" the jonin began before getting interrupted by Naruto and Sakura.

"YOU'RE LATE!" they yelled at him.

"Ah well you see I saw this bird and…" the jonin began with a smile, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly but stopped, once again seeing the murderous looks his genins were throwing at him, "Anyway let's go eat something. Where would you guys want to go?"

"Why not go to Ichiraku eat some ramen?" the blond proposed already drooling at the thought of ramen.

"Hell no! There is no way I'm going to eat this kind of greasy food! I'm on diet!" Sakura replied making a disgusted face.

Naruto's face fell at this and then began to argue that ramen was really healthy and contained every nutrients the body needed.

"Mah mah…" Kakashi said trying to calm the two that were arguing while Sasuke just looked blasé, "Why don't we go to a curry restaurant?"

After some more persuading from Kakashi's part and arguing from the other two, they settled down on going to a curry house. When they arrived they were led to a table where they sat and were brought drinks, while waiting for the food they ordered. Sakura was the first one to muster the courage to ask a question to their sensei.

"Sensei how long have you been a jonin?" the pink haired girl asked shyly.

"Hmm well I've become a jonin when I was 13 years old so it's been long time." The jonin said with chuckle.

"Thirteen!" the girl exclaimed impressed.

'Wow…' Naruto thought in admiration, 'That's almost how old we are right now…'

"Neh Kakashi sensei." The blonde said, turning the jonin's attention toward him, "What were you doing before becoming the leader of our genin team?"

"Ah that I cannot tell you." Kakashi replied with an enigmatic smile.

Before they could ask any other questions the food plates arrived and they began to eat.

"So sensei…" Sakura began but stopped herself when she realized something.

Intrigued why she had stopped herself midsentence, Naruto looked in Kakashi's direction to see the man looked completely normal and relaxed. But when he looked down at the jonin's plate, he realized that the plate was empty.

'When did he..?' Naruto asked internally, astonished.

"What is it?" the silver haired jonin asked acting innocently.

"Nothing." Both Naruto and Sakura said deadpanned.

The evening continued on with Sakura and Naruto asking questions to Kakashi, and Sasuke keeping to himself and watching the others. Then, when they were finished, they went out to the front of the restaurant and bid each other goodnight.

"Alright guys let's meet tomorrow morning in front of the academy to go get our first team's mission." Kakashi told them before leaving in a puff of smoke as he teleported himself to his apartment.

"So what did we learn about him?" Sakura asked turning toward the boys.

"Not much more from than this morning." Naruto muttered.

"I'm going home." Sasuke told them not waiting for an answer.

"By Sasuke-kun! See you tomorrow!" Sakura yelled after him in a sweet voice.

"See you guys." Naruto said before leaving too.

And so Naruto went back to his apartment and went to bed, falling asleep thinking about his new life as ninja that was about to begin, a big smile on his face.

**TBC**

**So what did you think of it? Liked it? Let me know.**** See ya! ;D**

**PS: Oh and I wanted to tell you that I'm going to the US for two weeks to visit the host family I lived with for a year. I haven't seen them for two years so it's going to be a big reunion and I'm really excited about it. Which means I will make sure to spend as much time with them as possible****, so the next update might take some time...**  



	12. Enlightening meetings

"Naruto…" a deep warm voice was murmuring softly into the boy's ear while gentle arms were wrapping around the blond's midsection.

Never had Naruto felt so safe and relaxed before. The presence that he felt behind was holding him possessively, but lovingly as well. The body was emitting a warmth that was enveloping the boy like a comfortable cocoon making him want to melt himself against it.

"Naruto…" the voice repeated with the same loving tone once again.

As Naruto listened more closely to the voice, he realized that it was the voice of a man but he couldn't place a name on the man's voice. He turned around and burrowed into a strong shoulder, feeling a hand gently tangling itself into his hair while the other made soothing circles on his back. As he tried to raise his head to see the face of the person who was making him feel so safe, he realized he couldn't see the man's face. It was all blurred and he could hardly even make the contours of the face that he felt deep inside him was beautiful. The boy tried to touch the man's face but as soon he began to reach his hand toward him, he felt the man moving back, making him unable to touch him. He ran desperately to try and reach the man. As he extended his arm toward him, a feeling despair and loneliness enveloped him as the man was getting farther and farther away from him.

"Wait!" Naruto said in an alerted cry, sadness filling him at the loss feeling of warmth.

The man said something but the blond could only hear a faint whisper that was too low for him to decipher anything that was said.

It was then that Naruto woke up with his arm extended toward the ceiling of his small apartment and his upper body slightly away from the mattress. This dream had been so vivid. It had felt so real, that the boy could swear he still had this loss feeling of the warmth he had felt in his dream. Falling back on his mattress with a thump, and letting a sigh escape his lips, Naruto thought about his dream and what could be the meaning hidden behind it. He really wondered why he had had such a dream. The man in his dream had been so loving and comforting that the blond wished he would see him in his dreams again. He craved for the feeling of those strong arms encircling him tightly again as well as the warmth that emanated of the body against his. Sighing wistfully and turning on his side, as he hoped that he would dream of the man again, he felt something odd. Sitting quickly and pulling the covers away from him, Naruto discovered, his face red in mortification his tented boxers.

'How can my body react like that when I have dreamed of someone I haven't even seen the face of?' the boy thought his cheeks as red as strawberries.

He got up and quickly went into the bathroom in the intent to take a nice cold shower to take care of his little problem before having some breakfast and preparing for his first C ranked mission. Naruto had been really surprised when the hokage had agreed to give them a more important mission. He hadn't thought that his complaining and whining would work. At first he had been really excited to get a better mission but when he had met the old man they were supposed to protect, he quickly deflated. This man, who was called Tazuna, was the most annoying and rudest person he had ever known! And now he had to take the old man to the Wave country and protect him until he has finished building his bridge.

Now they had just left the village to go to the Wave country. It was a warm sunny day, and Team 7 along with the client were walking at a relaxed pace. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were walking ahead while Kakashi and Tazuna were behind them. As Naruto was looking all around him, really excited to be out of the village for the first time since he was born, he suddenly heard something like a hum that seemed in a troubling way familiar to him. Turning around to look for the origin of the humming, the boy realized it was coming from Kakashi-sensei. The man was softly humming a tune that made him feel nostalgic for an unknown reason. It was a slow soft humming that gave him goose bumps all over his arms. A slow and sweet melancholy seized him, making him feel warm all over. When Kakashi-sensei looked at him and raised an eyebrow in question, he realized he had stopped walking and was still staring at his sensei.

"What is it Naruto?" the man asked pulling the blond out of his reverie.

"Hum nothing." The boy mumbled diverting his gaze from the older man feeling heat creeping on his cheeks.

The jonin looked at him with a thoughtful and slightly worried glint. What had made Naruto react like that? At a moment he was lost in his thoughts, humming absentmindedly the lullaby he used to sing every night to Naruto and the next moment he felt someone staring at him. As he was about to step up and try to know what was wrong, Kakashi noticed something suspicious. Deciding to be careful the silver haired man continued walking while staying on his guard. Suddenly he felt himself get tied up by ropes made of small shurikens preventing him from moving, nailing him to his spot. The ropes were held by two masked shinobis who were crouched on each side of Kakashi, one of their arms holding the rope. Before the others could react or do anything, the two ninjas pulled forcefully on the ropes, ripping to shreds the jonin in front of his team's horrified faces.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried in a desperate voice, feeling terrified at the idea that their sensei was now dead.

Then suddenly, as quickly as they had surrounded Kakashi, they appeared behind Naruto, killing intent enveloping the boy and suffocating him. Still in a state of shock at having seen his sensei get killed, the blond couldn't react quickly enough to avoid them. Kakashi, who had just faked his death and hidden himself in a tree nearby to see how his students would handle their first combat, was watching how Sasuke was handling the two ninjas fairly well while Naruto was unable to move and Sakura just looked slightly overtaken by events. After a while where nothing other than Sakura finally reacting and protecting Tazuna happened, Kakashi decided to intervene. He jumped down from his tree and quickly neutralized the two shinobis. As he did that he was facing Naruto, looking at the boy with an unreadable expression on his face as he masked his feelings well. Inside, turmoil of emotions was going through him. Worry for the blond as he had seen him get injured. Self-accusatory for allowing the boy to get injured. As well as wonderment about why the boy had been frozen in what seemed fear on the spot.

"Naruto, sorry for not helping you right away. I got you injured." The jonin apologized, "I didn't think you'd not be able to move."

After that he turned toward the others before tying the two ninjas tightly to a tree. He then began to ask for explanations from Tazuna about why a mission where there shouldn't have been any battle against other ninjas. After having had a talk with Tazuna, and deciding with the rest of the team if, with the new data they had about the situation, they were continuing the mission nonetheless. Kakashi turned once again toward Naruto, wanting to take care of the boy's injury as well as to talk with him alone to know if he was feeling all right and try to understand why he had not been able to move during the battle.

"Naruto come here I'm going tend to your hand." Kakashi told the blond before turning toward the others, "You guys go on ahead we'll catch up with you later."

"But sensei…" Sakura started to argue but was cut by the silver haired man.

"Don't worry we won't be long." Kakashi told her with a fake cheery smile so that she would drop it and obey.

"Ok." The pink haired kunoichi said sounding still a bit hesitant but doing nonetheless as their sensei told them.

As the others were slowly walking away, Naruto approached him shyly.

"Here show me your hand." Kakashi said gently taking a hold of the boy's hand as he extended it to him.

He examined it and noticed with astonishment that the cut was already healing.

'Kyubbi…' the lanky jonin thought with downing realization as he looked at the cut closing itself slowly until only leaving only a slightly red mark.

"Hum, am I going to be ok?" Naruto asked fidgeting nervously.

"Yes you will." He told him with a small reassuring smile before his face got serious for a moment as he asked the boy softly, "Are you feeling ok?"

"Yes thank you." The boy mumbled lowly, looking at the ground as he avoided looking at the jonin in the eyes.

"Naruto." Kakashi said with a bit more force, grabbing the blonde's chin to make him look at him, "What's wrong?"

At this moment, as he was looking into Naruto's eyes, he saw relief as well as what seemed to be some remnants of fear swirl into these mesmerizing sky blue eyes. But he also saw something else, something he couldn't quite manage to decipher. The boy's eyes began to water and his lower lip began to tremble as he was trying to keep himself from crying, which didn't seem to work as he involuntarily let out a whimper. Without waiting for any more explanation the jonin took Naruto into his arms. He rubbed the blonde's back soothingly, hugging him tightly as the boy wept against his shoulder, letting the tears fall freely. As he was whispering comforting words into the boy's ear, trying to calm him down, Kakashi decided that whatever had been upsetting Naruto it was most probably just the remnants of fear and stress over the whole battle against those two shinobis.

"Shh it's ok. You're alright." He said in a gentle voice as he rubbed gentle circles on the blonde's back.

Naruto snuggled deeper into the silver haired jonin's shoulder, his arms tightening around the man's neck. His breathing that had been shaky from the crying was slowing gradually to a normal pace as he calmed down. He was feeling warm inside the arms of his sensei, so warm and safe inside those protective muscled arms. He sensed his sensei had the wrong idea about why he was upset but he didn't dare tell him the real reason. The actual reason about his trouble was that apparently the mere thought Kakashi-sensei being dead was making him feel distressed. So you imagine what it had been like for him to think for a minute that his sensei had been ripped into shreds and then a minute later he realized he actually wasn't. Of course it had been a huge relief to see the man still alive and well, but it had also troubled him, as he was surprised that he already cared about his new sensei. They had now been a team for a bit less than a month and they were barely getting to know each other. After a moment of holding each other in their arms, Kakashi gently pushed away the boy a little to look at his face.

"Are you better now?" he asked softly, giving a handkerchief to the boy to wipe away the tear streaks on his cheeks and to blow his nose.

"Yes. Thank you and hum...sorry for your jacket." The blond said sounding embarrassed his cheeks a little red and his eyes puffy from crying.

"Good. Don't worry about it, you needed to let the floodgates open." The jonin told him reassuringly with a small wink before taking a serious yet gentle tone as added, "Naruto, if you ever need to talk to someone you can come to me. I'll always be there if you have any problem all right?"

"Okay." Naruto said with a nod before adding with smile, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Kakashi told him with a smile of his own as he stood back up from his crouched position, "Now let's catch up with the group."

After that encounter with those two shinobis Kakashi had hoped that they would not meet anymore of them, though he still stayed alert for any suspicious move or sound. In the end it was a good idea as they met the rogue ninja Zabuza whom the silver haired jonin fought using for the first time his sharingan in front of his students. The fight had taken so much from the man that as soon as the battle was over he collapsed on the ground. Sasuke and Naruto had to carry him to Tazuna's house where he was now bedridden.

Naruto sat next to the older man, watching over him who hadn't awaken yet, lost in thought. He remembered how he had been shocked by that special eye that the man had revealed during their battle against Zabuza. The sharingan…the blond was both fascinated by all the techniques possibilities that came with this ocular ability but also slightly wary of it. This ability was both incredible and scary at the same time. Naruto had already known that Kakashi-sensei was really strong but after seeing him fight against Zabuza, the boy had realized that the man was even stronger than he previously thought he was. Why was a man so strong just a jonin? Why was he the leader of a team of brats like theirs, doing low ranked missions when he could be doing much more interesting ones? Then he remembered how he had cried and the way his sensei had hugged him. The boy's face became red as he felt his cheeks beginning to burn at that memory. He had been so distraught that he had let his tears pour out of him like waterfalls.

'I can't believe I cried in front of him like a little girl! He must think I'm some weakling!' he thought mortified then his face softened, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, 'But…he held me in his arms. He tried to make feel better.'

He looked at his sleeping sensei thinking, not for the first time, that he was nicer than he pretended to be.

Later, Kakashi came back to consciousness. The sharingan had drained him so much physically that he estimated that he would need a week to recover completely. As he would not able to move much, he had decided to train his students in chakra control. It bothered him to let them handle Tazuna's protection so he at least wanted them to learn some basics like chakra molding so that they could improve and get stronger. The assignment he had given them was to walk up a tree and stand upside down on a branch. Sakura had managed to master it in a few minutes but Sasuke and Naruto were having a real struggle with it. Sakura had then been assigned to watch over Tazuna during the day, while the two boys were training. As for Kakashi, he was staying at Tazuna's house, resting as much as possible to recover quickly.

One day, Naruto was lying on the ground fast asleep. The chakra control training had now been going on for a few days, and the boy had trained so hard until late at night that he would often collapse and fall asleep where he was. The place where the blond had fallen asleep this time was a clearing in the middle of the trees, full of diverse plants and flowers. Suddenly someone woke him up by shaking him awake.

"You'll catch a cold if you sleep in a place like this." a soft voice said.

"Huh? Who are you?" the boy asked groggily as he sat up, while rubbing the sleep off of his eyes.

Whether it was a boy or a girl was a mystery. This person had long black shoulder length hair, pale skin and large dark brown eyes as well as a slender frame. To not help matters considering his or her gender, that person was wearing a pink sleeveless, low-cut kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-colored swirls, that went to his or her ankles. Naruto decided then and there that only a girl would wear that kind of clothes. He then noticed something at the girl's feet. It was a basket that had plants and herbs in it.

"What are these?" he asked motioning with his chin at the basket.

"They are medicinal herbs to heal injuries and illness." The girl said, a gentle smile on her face.

"Oh I'll help you pick them up." He told her standing up and beginning to bend to pick some herb before showing it to her while he asked, "So this plant is medicine?"

"Yes it is." She said smiling, then added after a few minutes where the two of them had been picking herbs in silence, "Thanks for helping out."

"You sure are working early lady." Naruto commented referring to the plant picking at this time of the day.

"You too." The girl replied, "What are you doing here at this time of the morning?"

"Training!" the blond declared with a solemn face.

They then talked about how Naruto was a ninja and the reasons why he was training so hard. After he told her that he wanted to become the strongest and surpass the hokage, she asked him something that unsettled him.

"Do you have someone who is important to you?" she asked with a small gentle smile, "Someone that is the reason you want to become stronger."

At this moment an image of Kakashi-sensei appeared in Naruto's mind, not one of Iruka-sensei or Inari-neesan but one of his team sensei. Images of the lanky jonin smiling, fighting or hugging him assaulted his mind, like they were persistently trying to make him realize boy realized at this moment that he had a slight crush on his sensei.

"Yeah there is." He said in a soft voice, his eyes looking in the vague.

Smiling softly, she stood up and began to leave.

"You'll become strong." she told him, "Let's meet again somewhere."

"Sure!" the boy said grinning.

"Oh and…" the girl began to add stopping for a minute and turning around slightly with an amused smile, "I'm a boy."

"Ah! Now way!" the blond exclaimed shocked as the feminine boy was walking away once again.

'He is cuter than Sakura-chan!' Naruto thought stunned.

Meanwhile, at Tazuna's house everyone had awakened and was now taking their breakfast. Sasuke, Tazuna as well as the old man's daughter and grandson were seated at the dining table while Kakashi was sitting not far from them by the door where he and the rest of Team 7 were sleeping. At this moment Sakura entered the room yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Naruto-kun didn't come back again last night?" Tazuna asked her, frowning slightly.

"He's been climbing trees all alone since he heard your story." She replied uncaring, before mumbling, "He's very simple…"

The day before Tazuna had told them the story of his late son in law who died standing to Gato for his village. That man, who had been named by the village their hero, had been killed under falsified accusations by Gato's men. Naruto, wanting to prove to Tazuna's grandson, Inari, that heroes really existed in this world, had decided since then that he would train as hard as possible even if he had to collapse from exhaustion.

"He may have used too much chakra and died by now…" the pink haired kunoichi added with a still uncaring voice.

Kakashi frowned in slight anger at this, as he thought that the girl might need to learn not to talk so lightly about death.

"I hope he's alright." Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, said with a worried face, "A child all alone at night in the woods…"

"Don't worry!" Kakashi told her, "He might not look it but he's a true ninja."

Though he was saying this, the jonin was pretty worried himself. Having already had breakfast, he decided that he would go find Naruto. He walked around the place in the forest where he had first showed them the tree training. After a while he entered a clearing where he finally found the blond boy standing in the middle of it with an astonished expression on his face.

"There you are Naruto." He said startling the boy slightly, "Why are you making that face?"

"Huh? Oh hum just thinking that the world was really weird sometimes." The boy replied while scratching the back of his head in a thoughtful manner.

Though he was intrigued by this enigmatic answer, Kakashi decided to let it drop for a more important matter.

"Are you feeling ok? You didn't come back last night so I was wondering if anything had happened to you..." The lanky jonin said feeling a bit uncomfortable as he felt like he was justifying himself for coming to check up on Naruto.

"Yeah I am thank you." Naruto said shyly looking at the ground, his bangs hiding a suspiciously red face, before he raised his head to look at him with a grin beginning to stretch on his face, "I think I'm on the right track to master the tree training before the end of the week."

Kakashi didn't know why Naruto was acting like that but he couldn't help think that he was looking quite cute with his reddened cheeks.

'He could make some heads spin with this face of his.' He thought looking at the boy with soft eyes.

"Really? That's good." The silver haired man said with a smile, "Well maybe we can see your progress after you've eaten some breakfast."

"Okay!" the boy said with a big smile following his sensei back to Tazuna's house but stopping in his steps with an unsure look on his face.

"Ne Kakashi-sensei can I ask you a question?" he said his voice a little hesitant.

"Sure go ahead." The jonin told him as he stopped, curious to what the boy could want to ask him.

"Is there anyone important to you? Someone that is the reason why you are a shinobi?" he asked him fidgeting a little embarrassedly.

"Maa there is," the lanky man said with a small gentle smile and warm eyes, looking directly into Naruto's eyes, "And I would do anything to make sure that person is safe and happy."

Naruto looked at his sensei mesmerized. He had felt like the words pronounced by the man had been for him. But it couldn't be could it? Though there was no way it was, the boy couldn't help but deep inside hope that those words were meant for him.

"Come on let's go get some breakfast." Kakashi told the blond walking once again.

"Okay." Naruto said following the older man.

A week had passed and Naruto as well as Sasuke had mastered the tree climbing exercise. After that Naruto had collapsed almost instantly in exhaustion. As a result the next day Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura had gone with Tazuna to the bridge, leaving Naruto to recover. But when they had arrived there, they were greeted by the sight of the workers lying unconscious on the ground. Then Zabuza and his masked companion appeared, and soon a battle ensued between Zabuza and Kakashi and between Sasuke and the other, whom Zabuza called Haku. Naruto joined them a few minutes later, joining forces with Sasuke to defeat Haku. That was a real shock when he realized that Haku was in fact the boy he had met in the woods. Naruto learned that the precious person to Haku, that the boy would do anything for, was Zabuza. Haku told him the whole story of how they met and how the boy agreed to become the man's weapon, as his existence was finally acknowledged by someone and how he felt useful for the first time in his life. But he got even more shocked when, not even having the time to react, when Haku placed himself between Kakashi and Zabuza to take the fatal blow that the jonin was aiming at the rogue ninja.

Now Gato and his men had arrived and were standing in front of Team 7 and Zabuza. Gato walked up to Haku's body, which was lying, on the ground not far from him. With a superior face and some remarks of disgust he kicked the head of the dead boy. Naruto saw red at this and began to charge the man, fury and killing intent coming out of every pore of his skin for what that rotten man dared to do.

"What are you doing? You bastard!" he yelled a he sprinted toward the man with the intent to make him regret to have ever been born.

"Hey!" Kakashi said yanking the boy as he ran past him, preventing him from going further, "Look at their numbers. Don't just jump in!"

"Say something!" the blond then exclaimed turning toward Zabuza, fury and pain still in his eyes, "Weren't you friends?"

"Shut up kid! Haku is already dead." The rogue shinobi said in a robotic tone, revealing none of his true feelings.

But Kakashi wasn't fooled by that façade as he saw the tenseness in his shoulders and even on his face features. Zabuza's whole body was screaming restraint: restraint to kill everyone for Haku's sake, restraint to show how much Haku's death had actually affected him.

"Don't you feel anything at all?" the boy asked struggling against Kakashi's grip as he wanted to go beat some sense into the rogue ninja's skull, "Weren't you two always together?"

Zabuza said in a clipped as ninjas are merely tools who are used then thrown away when they are useless, that there are those who use and those who are used.

"We shinobis are simply tools…" he then finished by saying in a clipped cold tone, "What I wanted was his blood not him… I have no regrets."

"Hey… Do you really mean that?" Naruto asked anger rising within him.

When Zabuza didn't reply Naruto struggled and managed to break free from Kakashi's grip, running toward the rogue shinobi.

"Stop Naruto! We're not fighting him anymore! Plus…" Kakashi told the blonde but before he finished what he was saying he got interrupted.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled too angry to care about telling this kind of thing to his sensei, "My enemy is still him!"

Out of breath from yelling so much, Naruto had for a few seconds a hard time regaining his breath as he panted heavily, looking with eyes filled with anger at Zabuza.

"He…" he began before taking in a deep breath and continuing, pointing at the corpse of Haku, "He really loved you!"

"He really loved you that much!" the boy continued with tight fists trembling slight, unshed tears beginning to blur his eyes, "Do you really feel nothing? Do you really…really not feel anything?"

"If I become as strong as you… Will I really become like you?" he asked more to himself than anyone else tears now falling freely from his eyes.

How could this man not feel anything for the person who devoted his life and body for the man's goal? Haku had loved this man with all his being until the very end, doing everything he could to make him happy. How can he be insensitive to such pure devotion? Haku had done everything he did out of love but this man had done everything out of self-interest!

"He threw away his life for you!" he yelled tears streaming down his face, "Without his own dream…to die as a fool…that's…just too sad!"

"Kid…" Zabuza said in a low pained voice, which made Naruto turn his head to look at him.

What he saw surprised and shocked him into silence. Zabuza's face looked pained, tears flowing down his face as his features showed more emotions than he had probably ever let on.

"You don't…need to say anymore…" he said looking like a wounded animal but you could tell it was not because of his physical injuries.

Then, the man that everyone called the demon of the hidden mist borrowed a kunai from Naruto and placed it between his teeth before dashing Gato and his men. In just a few minutes he had killed most of them and had decapitated Gato. Weapons sticking out from everywhere on his back and blood dripping down his body from the numerous wounds he had received. He had now collapsed on the ground, lying on his stomach, people gathering around him. Naruto looked with wide shocked eyes at this proud man falling. As he was about to turn his head away from the scene, finding it too unbearable to look at, Kakashi stopped him from doing so.

"Don't look away." He said with an authoritative tone of voice, with a hint of reverence, "The end of a man who lived a difficult life."

"Yeah." The blond said in a low voice.

After having taken care of the rest of Gato's men with the help of the people's village, Kakashi walked up to Zabuza.

"It looks like it's over, Kakashi." The rogue shinobi said breathing heavily.

"Yes." The silver haired jonin replied with a nod.

"Kakashi…" Zabuza said after a moment of silence, "I have a request."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"I want…to see his face." The demon of the hidden mist said with a pleading, almost desperate face, a sad smile playing on his lips.

"Sure." The jonin said, his face softening with an understanding glint in his eyes.

After all, it was obvious that Zabuza had loved this boy too. Kakashi slowly kneeled by Zabuza's side and took out every weapon stuck in the man's body one by one. After he was done, he gently picked the Zabuza in his arms and began to carry him where Haku was lying. Snow began falling from the sky as Zabuza turned his head toward Kakashi.

"You might think I have no right to talk about this kind of things when I myself messed up but… If I had one advice for you it would be to never let go of the person who is important to you." the rogue ninja began with fresh tears in his eyes, "Haku was really precious to me but I didn't want to admit it. I didn't want to admit I had fallen for this kid. He was so pure that I couldn't allow myself, a demon, to let my feelings take control. He was my sun, my little angel."

At the last sentence that Zabuza said, Kakashi's heart skipped a beat and he felt a flutter in his stomach. "My little angel" was what he used to call Naruto when he was a baby.

"Accept your feelings without shame." Zabuza said while taking a glance over at Naruto, "If you embrace them you'll experience the happiness that could have been mine had I not been so stupid."

Kakashi did not understand most of it but he felt that he would understand everything in due time. They arrived next to Haku's corpse. The silver haired jonin slowly put Zabuza's body down so that the man could be face to face with Haku.

"Thanks Kakashi." Zabuza said only having eyes for the boy now, looking at him like he cared about nothing else in the world.

The rogue ninja reached with his trembling hand to touch and grab Haku's hand that he held tightly in his, a loving smile settling on his face, his eyes growing soft and warm.

"If I could…" he began to say to the boy, gently placing his hand on the boy's still slightly warm cheek, "I'd like to…go to the same place…as you…"

Kakashi as well as Naruto, who had gotten nearer, had seen and heard the whole scene. By now Naruto was crying openly, not being able to keep all the sadness and pain inside of him. As for Kakashi, he was looking at the scene solemnly, feeling sad for this love that those two shared but had apparently been too afraid to admit to one another. It was at the same time a wonderful pure love between two beings but it was at the same time one filled with sorrow and pain. He then suddenly felt something grip the back of his pants. When he turned around he saw that it was Naruto who, in his need for support as sadness went through him, had gripped his pants tightly in his fist, his eyes red and puffy as tears kept running down his face.

"He…" the blond began to say sniffling, Kakashi assuming he was talking about Haku, "was born in a snowy village…"

"I see…" Kakashi said in a soft voice, placing a hand softly on Naruto's head, "He is a boy as pure as snow…"

'You'll be able to go Zabuza…together…' he said internally in his head.

Naruto who had heard everything that Zabuza had said to his sensei, couldn't help but take what he had said to Kakashi also for him. Those words had stung deep inside of him, making him realize that what he had taken to be a silly crush for his team sensei was apparently more than that. He realized that he loved that weird but nice silver haired, one-eyed jonin. He was in love with Kakashi Hatake. How it had happened he had no idea. But now that it had, he could only accept and deal with it. Now all he had to do was to decide what he would do with that knowledge.

**_TBC_**

**Hey guys I'm back! I hope you**** didn't miss me too much! =P Here is another chapter. I hope you liked it. As you see things are beginning to evolve (slowly but surly). :)**** I should be able to update once again at my usual pace now because are normally settling down a bit for me.**

**See ya next chapter!**_  
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	13. The Chunin Exam

**In my defense the chapter had been ready since sunday but I haven't had much time to check it for grammatical and orthographical errors (Yes I know I'm sure there're still some errors but if I didn't do it there would be even more... and it's like that even in my native language! Maybe even worse... lol). =P**

A few months had passed since what had happened in the Wave country, with Zabuza and Haku, and team 7 was now back to normal… or as normal as this team could ever be… A bond had been built between Naruto and Sasuke but that didn't stop the fact that they were rival. Naruto was always fighting like cat and dog with Sasuke and trying to outdo him on missions. Sakura would always look at them with a bewildered look, like she was wondering why they were behaving like that when they had seemed to have gotten closer to one another during the mission in the Wave country. Kakashi understood what was happening. After all they were guys. Guys had this weird habit of, even though they might care about the person, bickering if they see this person as a potential rival or anything. Actually it reminded him of how it had been between him and Obito. At that time he had been as cool and indifferent as Sasuke, while Obito had had this explosive personality like Naruto. At that last thought, a small smile crept up on Kakashi's face. Naruto really resembled Obito in some ways. The blonde's personality was very similar to his late best friend's. It proved that he had inherited more from his mother on the personality side than from his father. Kakashi let out a sigh at that. Kushina-san had been a really nice woman. But he remembered that every time he would go to his shisho's house, Kushina would tease him and mistreat him with great slaps on his back, nearly making him fall over every time. He had his back sore just at the thought of all the back slaps he had received from this woman who had the audacity to say she wasn't strong when her hands felt like iron.

Right now the silver haired jonin was walking in the streets of Konoha, toward the bridge where he had told his team to meet him. He was on his way to tell them some great news. They had been whining non-stop that they weren't doing interesting or exciting missions, so he was sure they would jump in joy at this news. He finally arrived at the meeting place, appearing on top of one of the arches that were on the bridge.

"Morning people!" he said in a cheerful tone, though knowing it was already noon and that they had been waiting for him for 2 hours, "Today I got lost on the road of life."

"Yeah right! Liar!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at him, looking like they were going to murder him.

"Well anyway…" the jonin said jumping down from his perch, standing in front of the genins who were waiting impatiently for the reason they had been summoned here while it was normally their day off, "This is sudden but... I've nominated you guys for the chunin selection exam."

The genins looked at him with blank looks, not fully registering what the lanky man had just said. Before the news could fully dawn on them, he held out the application forms to them. Apparently this helped the kids realize what was happening as Naruto suddenly pounced on Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei! I love you!" the boy cried happily, his arms flung around the jonin's neck, his smaller body pressed against his.

"Oi stop, let go of me…" Kakashi said embarrassed, a blush creeping all over his face.

At this moment, the boy realized the position they were in, as well as the way he had acted, and pulled away quickly, his own face becoming quite red in embarrassment. He then backed away and went to sit on the floor to look at his application form with more reserved excitement.

"This is just a nomination. Whether to take the exam is up to each of you." Kakashi explained to them, "Those who wish to take it should sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4 pm tomorrow. That is all."

With that said the jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the three genins standing there on the bridge. He had some things to settle with the other genin team leaders. As he was walking, he remembered the conversation he had had with the hokage after he had said that he recommended his three genins for the chunin exam.

_Flashback_

They were in the hokage's office, Sarutobi sitting at his desk while Kakashi was standing in front of him.

"So Kakashi," the old man began to say, "I was rather surprised when I heard you were recommending the three genins of yours for the chunin exam."

"Though it doesn't surprise for Sasuke," the Sandaime continued with a certain glint in his eyes, "it does surprise me for Naruto. I never thought you'd voluntarily put him into this kind of dangerous situation."

"Well I thought this would be a good training for them." The silver haired jonin replied with a shrug, "They will learn what the chunin exam is made. I think it's good for them."

"Moreover they are running on your nerves with their whining about doing more interesting missions." The hokage added, a hint humor in his voice.

"That too." Kakashi said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, smirking.

"You know Iruka is not happy about it." Sarutobi told the jonin with a serious expression.

"It would have been hard to ignore his loud protests as he was just behind me." The jonin said a little annoyed as he remembered the way Iruka had intervened during the meeting, in which they saw whom of the new genin team would participate.

In the end, the three new team leaders, including Kakashi, nominated all of the genins of their team. This is where Iruka-sensei had intervened loudly, saying that those genins had been his students and that they weren't ready for something like this yet. Annoyed, Kakashi had confronted the chunin about it and it had resulted into an argument in front of all the other jonins and chunins who would participate into the planning of the chunin exam. In the end, Kakashi had told Iruka-sensei exactly what he had already told him a few months before. They were now his students and Iruka had no right to say anything. That had made the brunette upset though he did shut his mouth after that.

"Just say that you didn't like his comment about Naruto not being like you." Sarutobi couldn't help but say to the young man, an obvious amused glint in his eyes, "You haven't been tender with him after that."

"He needs to learn where his place is. A chunin shouldn't speak like that to a superior." The jonin grumbled, his face showing his clear annoyance for the chunin's behavior.

"Well you'll have to stand him at least a little since you and him are two of the most important in Naruto's life." The old hokage said with a serious look.

"I know." The jonin replied in a softer voice, his face's features loosening a bit.

_End of flashback_

The next day, Kakashi was walking toward the training ground when something green appeared in front of him.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! Long time no see!" Guy exclaimed with a big grin of his, "How are you on this fine afternoon?"

"Hey Guy." Kakashi greeted back with a wave of his hand, "I'm good thank you."

"You know I've met your students today. They look like good kids." The Green Beast of Konoha told him with a smile, "The Uchiha kid looks a bit too dark on the edges if you ask me but I guess the little blond makes up for it with his energy."

"Hmm Naruto has this unique power of making people to never give up and do the best they can." The silver haired jonin agreed in a low warm voice, a fond smile unconsciously playing on his lips, "He is like a sunshine, shining brightly and forcing his rays upon everyone whether they like it or not."

Guy looked at Kakashi with surprise at first before a knowing smirk crossed his lips as he watched the lanky jonin lost in thought about whom he could only assume was a little blond called Naruto. Then as if lightning had struck, the green spandex wearing jonin's eyes widened in realization.

"Hey wait just a second!" the man exclaimed, "Isn't Naruto the little boy you had raised for a year?"

"Hum yeah it is." The lanky jonin said, startled out of his thoughts.

"Wow what are the odds for you to have had the boy in your team!" the man exclaimed in awe, making the jonin in front of him squirm uncomfortably as he knew he forced the odds to be in his favor.

"What about your students? What are they like?" Kakashi asked his friend, and supposed rival, quickly changing the subject.

"Ah yes they are full of youth!" Guy declared with pride, "There is Neji Hyuga, a girl named Tenten and my taijutsu apprentice Rock Lee."

Noticing the hint of tenderness and possessiveness that Guy had used for the latter one, which hadn't been there for the other two, Kakashi looked at his friend in wonder. He couldn't help but notice how his friend's eyes warmed up and sparkled, which fed his curiosity even more.

"This Rock Lee…you seem very fond of him." The silver haired said carefully, not wanting to offend or put the man on the defensive.

"Lee? Huh yes he is really hum…" Guy began to say with a slight blush, struggling for words.

"Special?" Kakashi proposed gently.

"Yes special." The green tights wearing jonin said with a soft smile, "He is so…full of life and gentle. He has such a big heart."

"You really like him a lot don't you?" the silver haired jonin asked, smirking at his friend that he had never seen him act this way.

"He has a special place in my heart." Guy said in acknowledgment of his feelings for his student, "I just want to make him happy."

"That's good." Kakashi said with a smile, "I'm happy you found someone important to you."

"Thank you." The other man said with a big smile, looking expectantly at his rival, "What about you? Don't you have an important person in your life?"

"Oh well I don't really have time to have one. I'm rather busy." The silver haired man mumbled rambling his face beetroot red.

At hearing this, Guy raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"What about your team? What are they like?" the green wearing jonin pressed on in a hopeful manner, which startled and confused the lanky jonin a bit.

"Sasuke is really skilled. He and Naruto have a rivalry going on." Kakashi began to say, "Sakura is infatuated with Sasuke and it seems to interfere with her work as a shinobi. She has a harder time progressing than the other two. At first I thought Naruto would be the one to progress slowly as he seemed to have some trouble with chakra control and all. But since he is part of team 7, he has gotten stronger."

Guy watched him as he was talking on and on about his team and more especially Naruto without noticing. A smile was stretching on his face as he listened to the way his friend talked about the little blond. Then suddenly, Kakashi must have realized he was rambling on or that he was being stared at because he stopped, an embarrassed flush appearing on his cheekbones.

"They all seem really good. Especially Naruto." Guy said, his smile widening at the latter part.

"Yes they are." The silver haired man replied with an awkward smile at his friend's own smile.

The smile was kind of creepy, as he didn't really know what the meaning behind it was.

"I believe they will become great ninjas." He added squirming uncomfortably under his friend's persistent gaze as if he was trying to tell him something.

"Oh I'm sure." The other said amused at how his friend was being consciously or unconsciously evasive.

After Orochimaru had marked Sasuke with the curse seal during the second part of the chunin exam, things began to slowly deteriorate. The Uchiha survivor was quicker to get irritated and would react in a disproportionate way at anything. His temper was unstable. But thanks to Kakashi it had been tampered a bit with a seal he had put on him after the third part of the chunin exam. Right now he was resting in the hospital to recover from the energy drain he had suffered from the curse mark. Naruto, who was worried about his friend, went to the hospital with the intent to talk to him. As he arrived in front of Sasuke's room, the boy took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Without waiting for a reply he knew he would not get from the other boy, Naruto entered the room to find Sasuke sitting quietly on his bed, his head turned to the window scowling at nothing in particular.

"Hey Sasuke!" the blond greeted with a cheery smile, "How are you feeling today?"

No response.

"Oi I asked you question." The boy said, his brow twitching in annoyance at the lack of response.

"Get lost usuratonkachi." The dark haired boy finally said, not even throwing a glance at the other.

"What did you say? Here I am worried about you and you have the gall to push me away!" Naruto said slightly angry, "What's wrong with you lately? You've been even more crabby and antisocial than before. You are making Sakura-chan worry!"

"That has nothing to do with you." Sasuke replied throwing a hard glare at Naruto's direction.

Though he hadn't the intention to touch Sasuke, Naruto approached until he was nose to nose with the Uchiha, looking right into his eyes.

"It's that mark on your neck isn't it?" Naruto said in a matter of fact tone, his voice filled with concern, "You need to tell Kakashi-sensei or someone else about it."

"I don't have to receive orders from someone like you!" Sasuke told him in a loud voice.

"Well someone has to reason you since you are more stubborn than a mule!" the blond replied, a deep frown appearing on his face.

"Says the person who can't even admit his own feelings to the person he loves." The dark haired boy commented snidely with a nasty smirk, "Tell me Naruto, does Kakashi know you fancy him?"

Naruto's face flushed in embarrassment and anger at the latter part.

"You…" he said feeling his blood boil at the taunt.

"Or maybe…" Sasuke began to say with a cold smirk, as he pulled on the blonde's arm making him lose his balance and fall on the bed where he pinned him to the mattress with his body, "maybe I could help you get him. Huh? What do you think of it? We could give him a show and make him jealous."

After saying this, the Uchiha nuzzled the crook of Naruto's neck with his nose, while still pinning him to the bed. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the blond, making his primal instincts as well as his mark flare up.

"W-what the hell do you think you're doing teme!" Naruto exclaimed while trying to push him away.

"Quit squirming and hold still idiot." The dark haired growled, pushing the blond further into the mattress before taking another swift of the boy's scent in and purring, " You smell so good. Let's have some fun while making sensei jealous."

With this said Sasuke grabbed Naruto's chin, forcefully turning the blond's face toward him, and crashed their lips together in a brutal kiss.

Kakashi was walking into the hospital hall, toward Sasuke's room. Even with the seal he had put on the boy, he feared that without training the boy would be consumed by the cursed mark and become a danger not only to others but also to himself. It seemed the cursed mark released the darkest side of a person.

'That might be the reason why Anko is so creepy.' The jonin thought, cold sweat running in the back of his neck at the simple thought of the crazy kunoichi.

This is for those reasons that Kakashi had decided that he would train Sasuke during the next month before the finals. He wanted to train him in controlling the cursed mark and maybe even learning a new technique to use all the pent up energy inside of him. As he arrived near Sasuke's room, he heard strange noises coming from it. It sounded like it was whimpers and rustling sheets.

"Sasuke please stop." A voice that sounded suspiciously like Naruto said.

At hearing this, Kakashi felt a feeling of worry seep into him and quickly opened the door to see what was happening. Never would he have thought of this scenario. When he opened the door, what he saw made his blood both boil and freeze as both anger as well as horror ran through his body. What he saw was Naruto pinned to the bed by Sasuke, who was kissing him. The blond didn't seem okay with it at all as he was squirming and trying to get out of the Uchiha's grip. He could see the cursed mark slowly expand along the boy's neck. Without waiting another second, he quickly got near the two boys and grabbed Sasuke by the back of his hospital robe and pulled him away from Naruto.

"Oi what do you think you're doing Sasuke?" he asked in what appeared to be a calm tone of voice but had clearly a dangerous edge to it.

Sasuke seemed to take control back of himself as his body went slack and his head hung low in shame. Naruto, who had been trying to regulate his heartbeat and regain his normal breathing pace, stared at them, without really looking at them, with a slightly shocked expression. He had believed for a moment that Sasuke would force himself upon him without him being able to do anything about it.

"I'm sorry Naruto." Sasuke apologized in a low voice tainted with remorse, making the blond look intently at him, "I don't know what came over me."

Kakashi kept his grip on the back of Sasuke's robe for a few more minutes, to make sure it wasn't a feint or that the boy wouldn't relapse, before releasing it and letting the boy go sit on the edge of the bed though he was still watching him carefully. He then remembered Orochimaru's words. The words that the Sannin had said to him when he had appeared while he was putting the seal over Sasuke's curse mark.

_Flashback_

"Why are you after Sasuke?" the jonin had asked the snake like man.

"You're lucky, since you got what you wanted already." The Sannin said, the words startling the silver haired, as he didn't exactly understand the meaning behind them, and continued with a bone-chilling smirk, "You didn't have _that _a long time ago. That…sharingan in your left eye."

"I want it too." He added his creepy smirk widening a bit, "Uchiha's powers, that is."

When Orochimaru had taken a step forward, Kakashi had immediately taken a defensive position, activating a chidori as a threat that he would not hesitate to attack at any suspicious move from the snake.

"There's no point in using that seal. You know right?" The Sannin had then said in a dark chuckle, "He has a heart that seeks power no matter how evil it is. He possesses that kind of disposition. He is an avenger."

"So you took advantage of that. But Sasuke won't…" Kakashi began to argue but got interrupted by the snake like man.

"Eventually, _he_ will seek _me_ out." Orochimaru replied, "Seek me out for power, that is."

_End of flashback_

He really wished what Orochimaru had said wasn't true. He couldn't believe it. He knew Sasuke had a slightly darker place in his heart than most people but that didn't mean that he would willingly let it overwhelm him. Though he had wished at first to train Naruto, with Sasuke getting the curse mark he had felt he should concentrate on the Uchiha kid instead. Moreover, after what happened just right now with the boy, it was more proof that he needed to work with him instead. He needed to teach him how to control the mark and not let the evil side take over. Like that he would also have an eye on the boy. Letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in, the silver haired jonin let out a weary sigh before he turned toward Naruto.

"Come on Naruto let's leave and let Sasuke rest." Kakashi said, urging the blond out of the room with a hand on the boy's back.

The blond followed him out of the room without saying a word, his head hanging low. As soon they were out of the room, with the door closed, Kakashi turned Naruto around and looked at him, crouching to be at eye level.

"Are you alright Naruto?" he asked with concern in his voice, and his eyes creasing in worry as they scanned the boy for injuries.

"Yeah I am." The blond said in a slightly shaky voice, his eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Come here." The silver haired man told the boy, opening his arms in invitation for the blond to hug him.

The boy didn't need to be told twice as he hurried to go into the jonin's arms and locked his own arms tightly around the man's neck, his face furrowed into the jonin's jacket softly crying as he let the stress seep out of him.

"It's ok I'm here." Kakashi murmured softly, patting the blond hair.

'Why did these kind of things always have to happen to him?' the jonin thought, his heart tightening painfully at the silent sobs he could feel coming from the boy.

When the boy had calmed down, the silver haired man stood back up and looked at the blond who was wiping his face with a handkerchief that he had given him. They then started walking again. The jonin's hand never left the boy's back, always keeping a physical contact with him even as it glided to his shoulder. The weight of the silver haired man's hand on Naruto's shoulder was comforting. It brought warmth to Naruto as it squeezed lightly his shoulder in a reassuring gesture, telling him that he was not alone. They were walking toward the hospital entrance when Naruto decided to speak for the first time since they had left Sasuke's room.

"Ne Kakashi-sensei…" the boy said, his voice hesitant but hopeful as he turned around to face the man, already missing the warmth of the man's hand that had fallen on the man's side as he had moved, "I have a request."

"I know what you are going to ask me." the jonin said, "I'm sorry but I can't train you Naruto. I think you saw how Sasuke was not himself lately. I need to take care of him so that something like earlier never happens again, or that would mean that we would be forced to lock him up. Do you understand?"

That latter part closed the blonde's mouth, as he had been about to protest about not having Kakashi as his trainer. He had really wanted the silver haired jonin to be the one training him. That would have been a chance to spend more time with him. But he also understood Kakashi reasoning. He had been really scared when Sasuke had begun pinning him to the bed and kissing him. He had felt powerless and had prayed that someone would come save him. Thankfully before anything horrid had happened Kakashi-sensei had arrived. He had never been so glad to see him. So he understood why his sensei preferred training Sasuke instead of him but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. He looked at his sensei, pouting, before looking away.

"Yeah I know." He grumbled.

"Now now! Don't be like that..." Kakashi said in a half amused half guilty voice, having a hard time resisting smiling at the cute disappointed pout that was on the blonde's face, "Because I've found a teacher for you who's much more reliable than me!"

At this the blond glanced at him from the corner of his eye, his pout lessening, looking at him suspiciously like he thought there was a trick.

"Who is it?" he finally asked cautiously.

"It's me!" a voice behind Naruto proclaimed in a pompous tone.

Turning around to see who had said that, the blonde's eyes widened comically as he recognized the person.

"Oh! You're the closet pervert!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at said man.

Ebisu blushed heavily at the boy's exclamation and under Kakashi's confused gaze. The silver haired jonin was looking between the two without really comprehending. They looked like they already knew each other but they didn't seem to really like each other. Naruto looked less than pleased by his teacher's choice. As he watched with slightly amused interest the two bicker, with Naruto whining and Ebisu lecturing the boy, he hoped internally that Naruto wouldn't be too mad about him letting him alone to deal with Sasuke.

Later, after Kakashi had announced to the Uchiha boy that he would train him, the silver haired man was walking to a bar where he was meeting Inari and Iyashi. The nurse had been pestering him about going for drinks and talk for weeks, as they hadn't had the opportunity to keep in touch much for the last month or two. Iyashi of course had just quietly followed his twin sister with her idea, too used to his sister's antics to mind them anymore. So that's why Kakashi was now entering a bar called Akachochin where, according to Inari, they served the best yakitoris she had ever tasted.

"Ah Kakashi! Over here, over here!" the already tipsy nurse hailed loudly, making more than one head turn in her direction.

"You don't have to be so loud sis' he can see you fine." Iyashi chided her, making her sit back in her seat as Kakashi approached them, feigning that he wasn't embarrassed by his friend eccentric behavior.

'Why do I always get people with strange behaviors as friends.' He thought sighing internally.

It's not that he was ashamed of his friends or anything but he sometimes wished that they would act more normal from time to time.

"Inari-san, Iyashi-san how have you been doing?" the younger man asked as he sat down.

"I am good. Work is the usual..." Iyashi said while Inari ordered another of drinks and snacks to the waitress, as she and her twin had already had a drink before Kakashi had arrived, and added with a teasing smile, "and I'm happy to see you less often in the hospital. Being a genin teacher must agree with your health."

At this remark the jonin flushed in embarrassment.

"Speaking of genin." Inari began, a mischievous glint in her eyes, slightly hazy from the alcohol, and a smirk that Kakashi couldn't seem to interpret, "How is the evil little brat doing?"

"You haven't had news from him?" the silver haired jonin asked, a bit surprised that the little blond wouldn't keep in touch with the few people who had been with him since the beginning.

"Well yeah I have. He tells me all about his missions and he always talks about the great Kakashi Hatake and all. But I want to hear what you have to say." The nurse said with again that mysterious smirk on her lips, as she crossed her hands together and rested her chin on them, leaning in to show Kakashi that she was waiting for him to talk.

"Well Naruto is doing good." The younger man began, "His ninja skills are progressing rather rapidly. I guess you could say that he is more a practical kind of learner than cerebral. He understands much faster if you just show and explain to him with simple words instead of trying using special words. All in all he is good kid."

"Argh but that's boring." Inari whined, slumping her head on the table like a five year old, "You're just saying generic stuff. Can't you tell us more than that? Something more personal."

"I don't know what I could tell more than that." The jonin replied startled, as he didn't understand what the nurse wanted.

The twins exchanged exasperated looks at each other while Kakashi was looking at the both of them feeling lost. Why did people look at him like this, with those strange smiles and expressions in their eyes? Before it was Guy and now those two. Even the hokage had had a weird glint in his eyes the last time he had spoken to him! Inari then sighed loudly while shaking her head seemingly at nothing while Iyashi smiled sympathetically as if he was feeling sorry for Kakashi. What Kakashi didn't know is they had noticed how his eyes were lightening up whenever the topic of discussion was about a certain little blond. And so they were desperately attempting to make the clueless jonin realize it on his own but until now every attempt had been unsuccessful.

"Really Kakashi you're hopeless." she told him in a dramatic voice.

"Huh?" the younger man asked taken aback.

"Forget it." The nurse said with a wave of her hand before adding with a grin, "Let's rather drink until dawn!"

Both Iyashi and Kakashi groaned at this, as they knew that the woman would keep them and force them to drink for the entire night.

Earlier that day, at the hot springs of the neighboring town, Naruto was standing on the spot, looking deadpanned at the scene that was just before his eyes.

'That's just great!' Naruto thought sarcastically as he stared at Ebisu, his temporary sensei, who was lying on the ground unconscious.

When Kakashi had told him that the closet pervert would be the one to supervise his training, he had been a bit disgruntled at this news. And then, as he was finally coming to terms with having Ebisu as his trainer, a long spiky white haired man had appeared and had beat the living daylight out of the four eyed man, knocking him unconscious and unable to teach him anymore. While the boy and Ebisu were training near the bathhouse, the weird old man had been peeping into the women's bath. Always being the "prude" type of guy, Ebisu had jumped and ran toward the perverted man to teach him a lesson about peeping. Now he was without a teacher and there was a weird old man standing in front of him on the back of a huge toad. Feeling anger rise into him, he had walked up to the open pervert.

"What's with the frog?" the blond yelled loudly at the man with his finger pointed at him, "Who the hell are you?"

"Alright hold on!" the weird old man exclaimed in a dramatic way, doing a theatrical pose, "Thanks for asking! Mount Myobokugama's holy master sennin, also known as toad sennin, remember it!"

"Sennin?" the boy repeated looking a bit bewildered at the old man, before coming back to his senses, "Hey! Ero sennin, what did you do? He was supposed to train me! Look what you did to him!"

"It's because he was in the way of my work." The perverted sennin replied calmly as he jumped down from the toad that was disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The old man had waist length white hair that were tied back in a ponytail, though two shoulder-length bangs framed both sides of his face. He also had red lines that ran down from his eyes and wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for 'Oil'. He wore a green short shirt kimono with matching pants, under which he wore a mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit. His outfit was completed with hand guards, a simple black belt, wooden sandals, a red cloak with two simple yellow circles, and a huge scroll attached behind his back.

"Your work?" Naruto said, raising his eyebrows in question as he was studying the old man.

"I'm a writer. I'm working on a novel." The man said as he took out a book from his vest before shoving it in the blonde's face with a proud smirk, "This!"

"Ah!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes widening in recognition at the orange cover, as an image of Kakashi-sensei always reading this book appeared in his head, "That is!"

"Oh! You know about this?" the sennin asked grinning smugly.

"I know about it! That's a nasty book!" the boy said pointing once again an accusatory finger at the book, before yelling angrily at the man, "Anyway, what the hell did you mean by 'work'? All you were doing was peeping into the woman's bath you pervert!"

"If you were my age it might be just a prank." He added, "But an old man doing that is totally a crime!"

"You fool!" the open pervert yelled back at the boy, "I am not just a pervert! Peeping gives me inspiration to write a better…"

"You liar!" the blond exclaimed, interrupting the man, "Now what the hell are you going to do about my training?"

"Training?" Ero sennin said with surprised curiosity, "Are you talking about that water walking?"

"You know about it?" Naruto asked suddenly getting an idea and pointing at the old man determinedly, "Then take responsibility... and help me with my training!"

"I hate disrespectful and rude brats!" the perverted old man replied loudly with annoyance in his voice, "And I don't like men!"

At the latter part, Naruto made a sound of repugnance in the back of his throat. The old pervert was weirder and creepier than any old man he had ever met. And here he had thought that Super bushy brows sensei, Kakashi-sensei or even Inari-neesan were the weirdest people he knew. As he looked at the perverted sennin in front of him, the boy decided that he would need to flatter the man's ego if he wanted to get trained by him.

"That Come Come Paradise is so cool…" he said tentatively with a big fake smile.

"Liar, this book is only for adults." The man replied not impressed nor fooled at all by Naruto's acting skills, or lack of it in that case, "Compliments will get you nowhere with me."

'Damn… Then I'll…' the blond thought dejectedly before an idea struck his mind and he decided reluctantly that it was his last resort.

"I'm a sennin, I'm not stupid enough to be fooled by a shrimp like you." The old man continued, "Geez, what an annoying brat."

As Ero sennin was ranting about not being deceived by this kind of trick, Naruto used the sexy no jutsu and transformed himself into the gorgeous curvy blond woman he had modeled for this technique.

"How about this?" his feminine self asked in her cute, enticing voice, with a wink, as only the smoke from the technique was covering the strategic parts.

"I LIKE YOU!" the perverted old man exclaimed loudly, his thumbs up, a trail of blood coming down from his nose as he drooled at the sight of female Naruto.

'He's an idiot…' Naruto thought deadpanned.

"Wow, just my type of girl!" Ero sennin said excitedly turning around female Naruto, "What's this jutsu? Huh! Eh!"

"Oh… I call it sexy no jutsu but…" the blond began feeling uncomfortable under the leering eyes of the perverted man.

"Oh! What creativity!" the old man exclaimed blood still running down his face, "You're a genius!"

'I get the feeling that all adults are very weak against this jutsu…' the blond thought, as he felt astonishment at how weak grown men were about these kinds of things.

After using a few more of his feminine charms, the boy finally managed to get Ero sennin to agree to train him. The blond trained all day and managed, at the end of the day to master walking on water. As he was preparing himself to go to bed and rest for tomorrow's training, brushing his teeth and changing into his pajamas, he thought about the month of training that was awaiting him with Ero sennin. He sighed heavily as he felt that he would sometimes need to do his sexy no jutsu again if he wanted the old man to stay serious on his training. He was kind of glad that he was not a real woman as he was sure that it would have meant that the old man would have been more interested to get into his pants than to train him. But then again, that meant that he would have an awesome new technique to show to Kakashi-sensei. This thought brought a smile on his face.

'I'm going to make him proud of me.' He thought as he was lying in bed, his eyes closing, drifting off to sleep.

_TBC_

**Yep I finally introduced Jiraiya! How much fun is that? =P**

**I wanted to write further but the chapter would have been too long so I decided to stop it here. **

**I hoped you like this chapter and do not hesitate to tell me what you did or did not like. ;)**

**See ya next chapter!**


	14. The Declaration

A lot had happened during the final part of the chunin exam. Naruto had learned from Ero-sennin the summoning technique. He had won his combat against Neji Hyuga, making all the people in the audience recognize his potential. They did not think of him as some loser anymore. Then Orochimaru along with the Hidden Village of the Sand, called Sunagakure, had attacked the village. A fierce battle had ensued between the ninjas of Konoha and those of the Hidden Village of Sand and Orochimaru's men. On his side, Naruto was fighting against Gaara. When he finally won, by summoning Gamabunta, a bond between him and Sunagakure's jinchuriki had formed. A bond made of understanding and mutual respect. While Naruto was having his battle against the redhead, another one was ensuing between the snake Sannin and Sandaime. In the end, it resulted in the death of the hokage. When all was finished, it was with great sorrow in their hearts for the loss of their hokage that the people of Konoha began to rebuild the buildings that had been damaged during the battles.

Right now, two days later, a select few shinobis and family members, of those who had fallen, were attending the memorial service. Rain was falling down on the crowd that had huddled on top of the hokage tower to pay their last respects to the Sandaime, as well as all those shinobis who had died to protect the village. The village's flag was at half-mast and people were gathering at the feet of the hokage tower to attend the funeral from afar.

'Why did the old man have to die?' Naruto thought, filled with sadness.

The news about the old man's death had really struck the boy deep. He had considered him like his grandfather. He was looking at the people who were putting one by one a white chrysanthemum in front of the pictures of those who had died. Suddenly, he heard sniffling on his left. It was Konohamaru who was sobbing silently next to him. Iruka-sensei, who was on the kid's left, put a comforting hand on the little boy's shoulder. The man crouched to his level. In tears, the kid turned around and buried his face into Iruka-sensei's shoulder to cry. Naruto watched them in silence, wishing silently that Kakashi-sensei, who wasn't there yet, would be there to hold him in his arms right now. He wished that the man he loved were by his side, comforting him. At this moment, he realized that life was fragile and could end at any time. He realized that if he had to die tomorrow he would at least want to have told the silver haired jonin that he loved him. He couldn't imagine not telling the man about his feelings at least before he passed away. He didn't want to leave this world with things unsaid. He wanted to leave it with his heart light and his head clear. As he was having this turmoil of thoughts in his head, he arrived at a conclusion: he was going to tell Kakashi-sensei how he felt. After arriving to this decision, he noticed that the man of his thoughts had finally arrived and was standing behind him, on his right. He looked up pensively at the Hokage Monument and more particularly at the Sandaime's stone figure.

"Iruka-sensei." He called the teacher, getting his attention, "What are humans? Is life just that simple?"

"When a person dies…it doesn't matter if it's the past, the present, or future they'll lose everything..." the chunin began to say, his eyes fixed the picture of the late hokage, "Many people die in missions and wars. They die easily and in surprisingly simple ways.

"Those who die have goals and dreams. But everyone has something as important as those. He died fighting in a mission. Death caught him unaware because life is that simple." The brown haired man continued, "It's like a dream, it's all the same even if haven't reached your goal... But everyone knows that the most important thing is to die for a cause."

"Family, friends, lovers, and all the other villagers. To me those are the most important people... We trust each other, help each other... " He finished, "From the day we are born to the day we die, we start to feel that love is the most important. And...that kind of relationship takes time to develop and trust...Anyone with this headband knows. Because it's very important..."

"Yes… I know that as well." Naruto said with a nod, himself looking ahead, eyes pensive, "But…death is still painful."

"The hokage wouldn't think it's painful." Kakashi then said, with bags under his eyes, sign that he hadn't slept very well for the last few days, making the boy turn his head to look at him, "Because we both agree that people should not be hurt for no reason. But... it's no use even if you do understand..."

"Right...! But not knowing is better than knowing." The blond said giving the man a soft smile, his eyes not leaving his face.

The memorial service was ending, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine brightly, bathing the assembly in its light. As people were leaving, going back to their lives and to the reconstruction of the village, Naruto decided that he would declare his love for Kakashi today. He was walking along with Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei when he decided to do it.

"Kakashi-sensei. Can I talk to you in private?" the boy asked in a soft voice, trying not to show too much nervousness, as he slowed down his steps.

Kakashi agreed, and they waited until the other two were gone, saying that they would see each other later.

"What is it Naruto?" the jonin asked the boy gently.

"Well I hum… I…" the boy stuttered, trying to say the words with a growing blush.

"Are you okay? Your face is red." The silver haired man said in a worried voice.

"I am. I-I just need to tell you that..." The blond said, looking at the ground, balancing himself on one foot to the other, "What I want to tell you is that… Iaminlovewithyou."

"Sorry I didn't get the last part." The man said with a slight frown.

"I'm in love with you." Naruto repeated a bit louder, his cheeks burning a nice shade of red.

After this, Kakashi looked at Naruto stunned. A warm feeling spread in his heart and all over his body. He was surprised when he felt happiness filling him at the boy's declaration of love. Why did he feel so happy about it? Why was there this pleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach? What's wrong with him? He was 14 years older than the boy for crying out loud! He couldn't get involved romantically with the kid.

It was with those thoughts in mind that he looked at Naruto with a sigh.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I can't return those feelings." He told the blond, who looked put out by his words.

"I understand." The boy said low, looking down with a sad expression.

It was clear that he might have expected it but that didn't change the fact that he was hurt for being told that his feelings weren't returned. The silver haired man couldn't help but feel a twinge in his heart at seeing the crestfallen look on the blonde's face. He decided that he had to tell him about the secret of how he had raised him for a year. This secret would lessen the blonde's feelings, and he would give up on this silly crush.

"Come on, let's go sit over there. I have to tell you something." Kakashi told Naruto gently motioning him to follow him.

He took him into the park that was near and went to seat into one of the park bench. When they were both sitting down, Kakashi turned to the boy and looked at him with soft but determined eyes.

"When you were born," the jonin began, "I was told by the Yondaime to watch over you. I raised you for the first year of your life with the help of Inari-san and Iyashi-san."

He then began to explain the boy why they had been separated and everything that had happened with the council, though he didn't tell him about still watching over him for all these years. As he talked, he saw how the boy's eyes had at first widened in shock then narrowed in anger and finally how he just looked lost. When he finally finished talking, silence floated in the air between the two. After a while, Naruto seemed to finally register everything in and looked at the silver haired man with an intense gaze.

"Is all this really true?" he asked in a pleading voice, as if he hoped all of that was just some bad dream.

"Yes it is." The man said softly, thinking that now the boy was going scream at him for letting the council take him away, "That's why I'll only ever feel a fraternal love for you. I consider you like a precious little brother or something similar to this."

He thought that the boy's romantic feelings would fade quickly after having heard everything. But he was proved wrong when the blond spoke.

"I don't believe you." Naruto simply said looking at him straight in the eyes, startling the man, "You've only raised me for a year and then for 11 years I've been mostly on my own. When I entered your team it was like it was the first time we were meeting, like we were strangers. We aren't from the same blood so I don't believe that there can only be platonic affection between us."

"Naruto." Kakashi sighed with a sympathetic look toward Naruto, as if he was a child having a caprice of some sort, "I understand that you feel like this for the moment. But this is just a silly crush. You'll soon grow out of it and then you'll find someone else. Someone around your age who will make you happy."

"This is what you think?" the boy said, with a dangerous angry edge to it, passion lighting his eyes, "Do you think it's just a whim of mine to be attracted to you? It's not just some crush. I really do love you! You might take me for just a kid but I'll prove you that what I feel is real."

"Enough Naruto!" the jonin told him firmly, raising his voice slightly, deciding reluctantly that he needed hurt the boy to make him give up on him, "It was duty to look over you and it's still is. All you are for me is a mission."

The boy winced at those words, which almost made the man backpedal on his words but he stood his ground, showing a hard face externally. But to his surprise, the blond stood straighter and looked at him with defiance.

"If you think that is going to push me away you are making a grave mistake." Naruto told him with narrowed eyes, looking hurt and slightly unsure now, but also more determined than ever, "Whether you like it or not, I'm going to prove to you that what I feel isn't just some childish crush. I'm going to make you recognize it. I'm going to prove to you that I'm worthy of being with you."

With that said, Naruto stood up and walked away, leaving a wide-eyed and open-mouthed Kakashi behind him. Coming out of his shock, Kakashi looked in wonder at the place where Naruto had been standing just a few seconds ago. At this moment he remembered his conversation with Jiraiya-sama about the blond just a few days ago.

_Flashback_

"I haven't seen you in a while." The silver haired jonin said, leaning his back against the railing of the missions' administration building, looking in front of him at nothing in particular, "How long has it been since you last visited the village?"

Next to him was Jiraiya, who was resting on his elbows, on the railings, looking over the village. Nothing was said for a few minutes until the older man finally decided to speak after he seemed to have been thinking deeply about what he would say.

"Kakashi." He said with a serious expression on his face.

His tone made the younger man turn his head toward the Sannin in barely veiled curiosity.

"I'm going to take care of Naruto." the toad sennin told him looking at him straight in the eyes, a hint of authority in his voice that didn't allow any arguing.

At hearing this, Kakashi's eyes widened a bit to show his surprise. Though he didn't let on much, he was both surprised that the Sannin wanted to do that, as well as shocked at this news that he wouldn't be the one to take care of Naruto anymore. He also felt a bit possessive over the boy but beat himself for that. He didn't own Naruto. Moreover, this was one of the best opportunities for Naruto to become stronger.

"I believe the Yondaime's decision to make you watch over Naruto was wise…" the older man told him, "But you may not be able to deal with some things at the level you're at."

"What are you talking about?" the silver haired man asked with a frown.

"After Orochimaru left this village, I monitored him." Jiraiya said with a grave face, turning is head back toward the village, "It was clear that he was going to come back to this village one day. Anyway I kept an eye on him…"

"But?" Kakashi urged him on.

"He joined a certain organization." The Sannin finished.

"Organization?" the jonin asked, feeling worry seep into him, "Any details about that organization?"

"I do not know the details, but it's called Akatsuki, and consists of nine ninjas." the toad sennin replied, "They have not done anything big until recently. They have just been gathering information…"

"But the problem is the members. Most of them are sly S-rank criminals in the bingo book." He added, turning his head toward the younger man, "And Itachi is one of the members. It's hard to believe that the nine of them are doing volunteer work. You should know where I'm going with this now."

The jonin only gave a nod of acknowledgment before the Sannin continued.

"But Orochimaru left that organization recently." He said, "And right about that time… The organization separated into teams of two and began traveling all over the place… Collecting techniques and other things."

"Do you have any hard evidence that one of the things they're looking for is the Nine-Tails?" Kakashi asked, his voice grave, hoping interiorly that it wasn't the case.

"It's a possibility." The other replied, crushing Kakashi's hope, "That thing is one of the mystical monsters that possess the ultimate Chakra."

Kakashi sighed wearily. It was just as he had feared… He wondered if the Yondaime had thought about the fact that his son would be hunt down and chased after by powerful ninjas when he put the Kyubi in him.

"Kakashi, Naruto will have to begin watching his back sooner or later. That's the fate he carries." Jiraiya told him, looking at the younger man, " You watch over Sasuke for now. You'll have to teach him how to use the sharingan as well. I will raise Naruto for a while."

The jonin wanted to protest, to say that he would be able to raise Naruto. He wanted to. But he knew that Jiraiya would take care of Naruto very well. After all, he was also the boy's godfather. His shisho had always trusted him so why not him too?

"I understand." He said with a nod in resignation, "So that means that you will stay in the village for a while."

"Actually, I'm going to take Naruto into the mountains to train him." The Sannin said.

"For how long?" the jonin asked.

"First I'm going to take him along as I search for Tsunade for her to be the fifth hokage. Then we are going to leave for his training. I don't know exactly how long it will take." The older man told him, looking at him to gauge his reaction.

At hearing this news, Kakashi's heart stopped for half a second, as he felt panic rise into him, though he schooled his features to not show anything. He wasn't fond to let the boy out of his sight at all. He wanted to be able to protect the kid all the time. But then again, it was for Naruto's sake… He knew it. The boy had to learn how to defend himself. He would not always be there to protect him. Resignedly he accepted the Sannin's words and consoled himself with the fact there's still some time before the boy spent all his time with Jiraiya. They talked a bit more about Naruto and other things before bidding each other goodbye and going respectively into a different direction.

_End of Flashback_

A few days later, Kakashi was walking in the street, to the teahouse. He had told Sasuke to meet him there so that he would tell him about his plan to take care of him. He had been about to buy offering for Obito, Rin and his shisho, when he noticed two men who seemed a bit weird in this little shop. The only part he could see of them were their hand that were holding the teacup. They each had a ring, each with a kanji inside: one red with written "scarlet" in it and a yellow one with written "south". Leaning his back nonchalantly against the shop's wall, he took out his Icha Icha Violence an read it while waiting for Sasuke. Suddenly, he felt two presences approaching and raised his head to look at who it was.

"Hey there you two." He said as Asuma and Kurenai were walking toward him, before adding with a teasing smirk, "My, you two get along well."

"Idiot, I'm only here because Anko asked me to buy some dumplings for her." Kurenai replied with a small blush, averting her eyes, while the man next to her just looked impassive, though slightly embarrassed.

"And what are you doing here?" Asuma asked the silver haired jonin, trying to change the subject.

"Well, I came to buy an offering and I'm meeting someone here." He replied with a smile, before getting serious and glancing at the two strangers that were in sitting in the teahouse, which didn't go unnoticed by the other two jonins who too looked in their direction, "Sasuke that is."

At the mention of Sasuke, Kakashi noticed that the hand with the red ring twitched for a fraction of second.

"Oh? It's unusual for you to wait for someone." Asuma replied with a slight smirk, his eyes, as well as Kurenai's, narrowing in the direction of the strangers, "Is the offering for Obito?"

"Obito?" Kurenai asked confused, as she wasn't particularly close to Kakashi, she had never heard this story.

"Something like that." The silver haired jonin replied evasively.

Then Sasuke arrived, diverting the jonins' attention for a few seconds.

"Kakashi?" the young Uchiha said with surprise in his voice, "It's unusual for you to be here first."

"I do it from time to time." Kakashi said, not leaving his eyes for the strange men.

Taken aback, the dark haired boy looked behind the man, wondering what was happening. No one was there anymore. The only things left were the two cups of tea and the small plate with dangos on it. The boy's eyes then narrowed in his trademark Uchiha glare.

"I don't like natto and sweets." He said.

"Oh, really?" the silver haired man asked in an uninterested voice, before turning toward the other two silently telling them to follow those strangers and finding who they were.

The two jonins gave him a slight nod before taking off, leaving him and Sasuke behind. Then, excusing himself to Sasuke, after having invented some story and postponing their meeting to later, Kakashi took off as well having a feeling that he should go help Kurenai and Asuma.

He finally found them down by the riverbank, both engaged in battle with the strangers who happened to actually be the traitor Itachi Uchiha and the rogue shinobi Kisame Hoshigaki. Quickly, he had hurried to the river where Kurenai was in a bad position against Itachi while one shadow clone was running to help Asuma.

"And why did you come here?" Asuma asked the silver haired jonin.

"I asked you two to deal with them back there…but you know I got worried." Kakashi said before turning his attention to Itachi on whom he had his kunai at the rogue nin's throat, "What does a renegade ninja like you want in this village?"

He had taken his forehead protector off from his other eye, revealing his sharingan.

"Hatake Kakashi." Itachi said in his deep calm voice, looking at the man with his red sharingan eyes.

'His eyes are still the same as before.' The silver haired man thought, remembering of the gentle, pacifist kid who had entered the ANBU for the first time.

He hadn't been an ANBU agent anymore at that time, but he had had to work with them once more for one mission. This is where he had met the elder son of Fugaku Uchiha. At the time he had found that his eyes had been gentle but also had a hard edge to them, the type of edge that showed that he had had a really difficult life. Right now he had the same eyes, though the gentleness was really deep within his eyes, almost non existent.

'But then again, he's a true heir of the sharingan…' the jonin thought, staying wary as he knew that after all that time the elder of the remaining Uchihas must have gotten stronger and must have honed his sharingan skills, 'I have to assume the worst case scenario.'

As Kisame was going to charge and fight him, Itachi stopped him.

"Stop, Kisame." Itachi said in a commanding voice startling everyone, "If you fight him head on, you will suffer unnecessary injuries. Also, if you take too much time, more ninjas will arrive."

"But…" Kisame tried to argue but the Uchiha interrupted him.

"Do not forget our purpose." The Uchiha told him in a stern voice, "You did not come here to get hurt."

"Then tell us that purpose of yours." Kakashi replied, his shadow clone that was with Asuma vanishing.

"We just came to find something we're looking for." The rogue Uchiha answered, looking at Kakashi with his unreadable face.

"Something you're looking for?" Kakashi asked, feeling he knew what the answer was but didn't want to jump to conclusions before the younger man told him, he then raised his kunai in threat as he as added, "And what exactly are you looking for?"

He secretly hoped it was Sasuke but with Jiraiya's words, he feared it wouldn't be.

"It won't take as long as Kisame if I do this." Itachi said calmly, the kunai pointed at him not intimidating him one bit.

Then really fast Itachi took out shurikens from his sleeve, making Kakashi jump back and begin to make hand seals for an attack. But the silver haired man soon realized that the shurikens had just been a decoy, as he barely had time to protect himself from a water attack that the elder Uchiha had thrown at him with the intent to break his legs.

"Very nice Kakashi-san…" Itachi commented, his voice devoid of emotions as always, "Your eye of insight is impressive..."

With that said, the elder Uchiha's clone, which had sneak up behind the jonin, stabbed a kunai in his back. Thankfully it was just a water clone. The real Kakashi was quickly swimming under water to give a kunai to Kurenai. But before the kunoichi could do anything with it, Kakashi realized that the nearest Itachi was a shadow clone, which apparently had explosive on. Quickly he jumped out of the surface and pushed the kunoichi away from the explosion. In an attempt to save them, Asuma had jumped on the river but he was soon relieved to see that they hadn't been hurt at all. All three of them were now standing on the river facing Itachi. Panting from all the efforts and energy he had had to use until now, Kakashi staggered a bit before regaining his balance.

"Kakashi!" Kurenai said worriedly, as she extended a hand to help him before she saw that Itachi had gotten nearer from them.

"Don't let your guard down." The silver haired jonin warned, "He's the man who became ANBU captain at the age of thirteen."

"I didn't expect him to be so strong." Asuma said with a frown, as he and Kurenai took a defensive stance.

"I'm impressed that you can use your sharingan so well even though you are not part of the Uchiha clan." The elder Uchiha commented, "But your body is not an Uchiha body, which the eye needs to work best."

'He's right. I tire easily.' The jonin thought as the use of his sharingan was beginning to take its toll on his body.

"I will show you why the clan of Uchiha was feared and reputed to be unmatched." The younger man said, "The sharingan... The Bloodline Limit's true power."

With dawning realization at what the Uchiha was about to do, Kakashi's eyes widened.

"You two! Don't look into his eyes!" he ordered quickly in a yell, himself closing his normal eye, only leaving the eye with his sharingan open.

Quickly the two other jonins closed their eyes, to not fall under the Uchiha's techniques.

"Don't open your eyes." The jonin told them in a grave voice, "If you see his eyes right now, you're dead. Only a person with the sharingan can deal with this technique right now."

"It's true that if you have the sharingan, you can resist this Mangekyou sharingan a little." Itachi replied, "However… You cannot counter this special sharingan eye technique… The illusionary technique: Tsukuyomi. Only a person who has the same Bloodline limit as me, a sharingan user, can defeat me."

"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, trying to fight off Itachi with his eye.

Unfortunately it was in vain as he fell into the elder Uchiha's technique. He found himself in a world where the sky was red and the rest was in black and white. He was by his arms and legs to a cross. In front of him was Itachi with a katana in hand.

"How can a person like you, who does not possess the Bloodline limit, deal with this?" the younger man said almost in morbid wonder.

With this asked, he stabbed the old man with the sword. After moving the blade a few times into the wound, so that it would be more painful for the jonin, he took it out. The pain was so unbearable that Kakashi let out a scream of agony, leaving him sweating and breathing so heavily from the pain that he lost consciousness for a moment. When he came back to him, his wound had disappeared.

'That was… genjutsu?' he thought to himself in surprise.

Then he raised his head and saw two Itachis in front of him, each of them holding a katana in their hand.

"In the world of Tsukuyomi…" the elder Uchiha began to say as he once again stabbed Kakashi along with his other self, making the jonin scream again, "I control space and time…and even the mass of objects."

"Starting now, I will stab you with a sword for 72 hours." He added as he kept on stabbing the poor jonin.

And so the torture kept on going as the numbers of Itachis along with the numbers of Kakashis being tortured increased as well. Though he kept telling himself that it was just an illusionary technique, the silver haired jonin couldn't help but admit that the pain was very much real. While it only lasted a second or less in the real world, the jonin felt that it had lasted a thousand times much longer than that, as even a second in Tsukuyomi was an immense amount of pain. When the torture was finally over, Kakashi collapsed on the water, barely able to maintain himself onto the surface with his chakra, and was breathing with difficulty.

"What's wrong Kakashi?" Kurenai asked, as she and Asuma of course didn't know what had just happened since it had happened inside Kakashi's mind, "You still want us to keep our eyes closed?"

"Not yet… Don't open them yet." The silver haired jonin told them with difficulty.

"What happened?" Asuma asked worried, "You suddenly fell down as he stopped talking."

'Three days in that world is less than a second.' He thought exhaustedly trying to settle down his erratic breathing, 'But… Why didn't he kill me? He could've if he tried…'

"Oh? You didn't experience a mental collapse after going through that?" Kisame said in an interested voice as he had joined the Uchiha's side, before he turned to Itachi, asking in a worried manner, "But Itachi-san… It's dangerous to use those eyes too much."

"Is Sasuke what you're looking for?" Kakashi asked the elder Uchiha in between his pants.

"No. We're after the Yondaime's legacy." Itachi replied.

'So he knows about Naruto.' Kakashi thought, his worst fears getting confirmed.

Though Asuma understood what Itachi meant by that, Kurenai seemed not to. As Kisame was charging them, Guy made a providential appearance, saving them from the swordsman. Seeing that Guy had finally appeared, Kakashi, who didn't have any more strength, began to sink slowly into the water. Guy picked him up before he disappeared completely under water and handed him to Kurenai so that she could take him to his apartment so that he could rest, before calling for someone from the hospital to come take a look at him.

The silver haired jonin woke up two days later, groggy and weak. Guy informed him of what had happened while he was unconscious. Itachi and his partner had managed to get to Naruto but luckily Jiraiya had arrived in time to stop them and they were now searching for Tsunade-sama. Unfortunately Sasuke had heard that Itachi was back in the area and had run after him in order to kill him, which had resulted in him fighting against the man and losing. The kid was now at the hospital because of the minor injuries he has suffered from the elder Uchiha. Kakashi feared that this would aggravate Sasuke's actual state of mind.

"Ah I see you're finally up! But watch it! I better not see you out of bed or I'm going to tie you to it!" Inari said threateningly, as she entered the bedroom.

"Shouldn't you be more nice and gentle with me since I'm injured?" the jonin replied with an eyebrow raised.

Inari had been the one to propose herself as the young man's personal nurse, and had been backed up by Iyashi. Since he was Kakashi's appointed doctor, he had been the one to assign him a home nurse so that the silver haired jonin wouldn't have to be at the hospital, as he knew Kakashi hated this place.

"Oh come on you are a strong man not some doll made of porcelain!" the crazy nurse exclaimed joyfully with a big grin, slapping his back cutting the air out of the poor jonin's lungs.

'This woman has a strength that could rival Tsunade-sama's…' he grumbled internally as he rubbed his now sore back.

"Okay now, as you can't move yet, I'm going to give you a sponge bath!" Inari said excitedly with a slightly twisted smile on her face, while waving a big sponge in front of him.

Her goal, which was apparently to make him blush, didn't work as she had planned.

"Inari-san I don't think your boyfriend would be really happy with you if you were to give me a sponge bath." He replied with a smug smirk.

"I see Iyashi already told you." The nurse said pouting.

"Yes well, it was obvious seeing how you would always blush like a love sick schoolgirl whenever Genma would look at you." Kakashi snickered, his smirk getting wider.

"How do you…" Inari exclaimed bewildered, a small blush spreading on her cheeks.

"Really Inari you are worse than a girl on her first crush." The silver haired jonin said, finding this reversal of situation very amusing.

"Oh shut up." The nurse muttered, sulkily turning away to hide her growing blush, making the man laugh at her childish reaction.

After Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf, a lot had to be done to reconstruct the village and protect it while it was in this weakened state from other enemy ninjas. Moreover a lot of good men and women, along with the Sandaime, had died in the attack, which left the village with an understaffing of ninjas to accomplish the missions. Since the come back of Tsunade, and her becoming the new hokage, every ninja of the village, even the teachers of the Academy, had been requisitioned to do missions. Even Kakashi, who normally still needed some rest, had been mobilized to accomplish an S rank mission. Right now the jonin was jumping from roofs to roofs. He had just received his mission and was going to the hospital where he knew his students would be. Just as he was nearing the hospital's roof, he felt a great amount of chakra coming from it and saw a big light. As he got nearer, he realized in horror that it was Sasuke and Naruto, fighting against each other. Sasuke was in mid air, his sharingan and a chidori activated, while Naruto was running toward the Uchiha with what seemed to be a ball of chakra in his hand. Sakura was running in between them to try to stop them but it seemed that neither of the two boys could stop. Without thinking any further, the man sped to them with all the speed he had. When he arrived next to them, he gripped the boys' wrist and sent them flying into the two water towers that were there.

'Naruto that was…' he thought in shock as he recognized the ball of chakra to be the rasengan technique that the Yondaime had created.

"Hey! You two!" He said loudly in a grave dangerous voice, "What are you doing on the roof of the hospital? If you're fighting you're getting too heated… Both of you…"

As Sasuke was getting his hand out of the water tower, Kakashi sat on top of it, looking down at the Uchiha.

"Why are you so obsessed with your superiority complex Sasuke?" he asked him, making the kid glare darkly at him in a mean way, "That level of chidori just now... isn't an appropriate technique to be used here against your own comrade. Were you trying to kill Naruto?"

Sakura let out a shocked gasp at the latter words. Kakashi looked at the Uchiha brat with narrowed eyes. He had a bad feeling about this. The boy's face looked darker than usual. He didn't seem in his right mind.

"Where did such…immature behavior…come from?" he asked both to himself as well as to Sasuke.

The dark haired didn't reply and just jumped on the side of the building, walking away.

'What happened to the teamwork?' He thought in a sigh.

The brat's behavior bothered the jonin immensely but what also bothered him was Naruto's new technique. It was too dangerous and too early for him to master this jutsu.

"Were you the one that taught Naruto this technique?" he asked to Jiraiya, as he had felt the Sannin being on the other side of the water tower, "I feel that Naruto is still too young to be able to control that level of a technique… In the worst case scenario it could have killed Sasuke."

"Even if it was for his own protection against Akatsuki…teaching that technique to Naruto was still…" he continued but was interrupted by Jiraiya.

"Lets be fair…" the sennin replied in a stern manner, "That chidori was too much for Sasuke too."

"I never thought that Naruto was the type to use it on his teammates…" he added with slight guilt in his voice before saying in a thoughtful voice, "Perhaps there is something going on between those two."

"Ah there is… somewhat…" Kakashi said slightly uncomfortable, as he didn't know it would have gone this far.

"Somewhat?" Jiraiya asked.

"Simply put… It is similar to the relationship Orochimaru had with you in the past." The jonin told the older man.

After talking a bit more with Jiraiya. Kakashi left, deciding that he would deal with Sasuke before going for his mission. Sasuke was not going to listen to him calmly. He only knew of one way to deal with this kind of troublesome situation: he was going to tie him up and he would force the brat to listen to him whether he liked it or not. And that's exactly what he did. After a long and strenuous conversation, or more like him talking and telling the Uchiha kid to forget about revenge while the other one was yelling at him. After saying everything he had to say, Kakashi freed Sasuke and left, letting him ponder his words. He had thought his words would have had an impact the boy but he was unfortunately proved wrong when he came back from his mission the next day. As he had gone to Tsunade's office to give his report, the new hokage told him that Sasuke had left the village on his own accord with Sound ninjas and that Naruto along with 4 other genins had went after him.

"What did you say?" the silver haired jonin asked appalled, leaning toward the medic Sannin with his hands slamming on the office table in a reaction of shock.

"There was no other choice given the situation of the village." The woman replied calmly, "We've hit the necessary minimum."

"Hmm." Kakashi said taking a step back and turning on his heels to leave the room, his eyes set in cold determination.

"Oi look at this!" the Godaime told him sternly while agitating an S rank mission paper, "Your mission had already been decided!"

"Eh…I'll come back as soon as I'm finished." He replied with a nonchalant wave, "There's no need to worry."

"You…" Tsunade said in shock as she realized what the jonin had in mind.

Arriving at the village gate, he quickly summoned the whole pack. After giving them instructions to find the scent of Naruto and Sasuke, he made them scatter and waited for one of them to find a track. While he was waiting, his mind wandered to Naruto and Sasuke. He thought about how he had taught Sasuke the chidori so that he could protect what was dear to him but instead he used it to try to kill his friend. He had been naïve to think that after his talk, the darkness that resided in Sasuke's heart would just disappear. And now he had succumbed to this darkness and Naruto was running after him, trying to bring him back. Fear and anguish was spreading throughout his body, feeling a knot in his stomach as he thought about both boys' power and how they could destroy each other. At the mere thought that Naruto could be killed, cold sweat began to run down the man's back. Suddenly he heard a howl coming from his left and he took off. Soon he joined Pakkun, who had been the one to give the signal that he had found something. Jumping from tree to tree and running as fast as he could. He hoped he would get to them quickly.

"Just a little further!" Pakkun told him after a while.

'Let me make it on time. 'He prayed internally, his eyes creased in worry, 'Hang in there and wait a bit more for me…Naruto.'

Suddenly he felt a frighteningly impressive, and dark power coming from where he was heading. Then as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared. Rain began to fall from the sky, soaking Kakashi and Pakkun wet.

"Rain…!" the silver haired man said worried as he turned his eyes to the ninken, "Have you lost their scent?"

"That's alright! I still have it…" the pug told him, "They're here!"

They soon arrived to a place that Kakashi recognized as the Valley of the End. The jonin didn't take the time to think about how ironic it was that the place where Naruto and Sasuke were battling, was the place that commemorated the two founders of Konoha that consisted of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, whom had also fought against each other. He instead looked fervently around until he saw Naruto's body lying on the ground, at the feet of the first hokage's statue's feet. He quickly landed next to the boy. The rain was falling on the boy, covering him in droplets of water and drenching him, but it didn't seem to bother him. In fact his body wasn't moving at all, not even his chest seemed to move.

"Am I too late…?" he asked himself, fear filling him at the sight of the unconscious boy as he kneeled by the boy's side.

He looked at Naruto bloodied and beaten form, praying with all his might that he was still alive.

"Naruto…" Pakkun said in a low voice, looking with a sad face down at the fallen boy, "Why like this?"

Kakashi didn't say anything. He just looked down in sorrow at the boy. There was another forehead protector next to the blond that had a scratch going through Konoha's symbol. Pakkun smelled it and raised his head toward the jonin.

"Sasuke's." he simply said with a grave face.

Still silent, Kakashi closed his eyes for a second, as his worst thoughts seemed to be confirmed. He had not been sure at 100 % that Naruto would have caught on with Sasuke or that they would have been fighting but the forehead protector was the proof of it. And if he at least knew Sasuke a little, he knew that he wouldn't leave things half done. Slowly, he took Sasuke's forehead protector and put it on Naruto's stomach.

"If I wasn't in time I'm sorry…" the silver haired man said as he picked the boy's limp body up.

"Naruto." Kakashi said in a whisper staying silent for a few seconds after that, his eyes swelling a bit as he felt tears threatening to spill, and he added with sorrow in his voice, "Was your fate…inevitably death…?"

The boy's body was warm against his arms. The jonin then realized that the boy was still breathing, as he could hear the soft sounds of breathing coming out of his mouth, as well as see his chest rise up and down. Relief flooded into him like a balm, glad that the boy was alive. He placed the boy on his back and began to head back to Konoha with Pakkun, giving one last glance at the founders' statue thinking that Naruto and Sasuke had had a very similar fate. As he was running back to the village, he felt Naruto stir slightly as he regained consciousness.

"Kakashi-sensei." The boy said in a low raspy voice, "…what about Sasuke…?"

The man preferred not to say anything. Naruto was still thinking of "rescuing" Sasuke in his condition?… His willpower was unbelievable… The boy understood the man's silence and burrowed his face into the jonin's shoulder, inhaling deeply as the man's scent soothed his heart and his body heat slowly lulled him into somnolence. Suddenly medic nins appeared next to him, running side by side.

"What is Naruto Uzumaki's condition?" one of them asked.

"He's alright." The silver haired jonin told them.

"Sasuke… Where is Sasuke Uchiha?" the medic nin then asked.

A simple look at the closed face of Kakashi and the sad face of the blond made the man understand the situation.

"What's the situation with the other genins?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai! By the hokage's orders the first and second medic teams were dispatched." The man told him, "They've already recovered the scattered injured genins. They've been taken to receive urgent medical treatment."

"What's the situation?" the jonin asked his brow creased in deep thinking.

"Hai! Shikamaru Nara has a minor injury." The medic began to tell him, "Kiba Inuzuka has a deep wound but there's no danger to his life. Neji Hyuga and Choji Akimichi are in critical condition… For the moment their condition is uncertain."

The next day, Kakashi was sitting in Naruto's room, watching the boy sleep. The blond was covered in bandages from head to toe. Only his face was uncovered and visible. He watched over the child, never wanting to leave, not even to eat or drink something. Thankfully for him, everyone was so busy tending to the other genins, especially Choji and Neji, that they didn't pay attention to him at all. When he felt Naruto stir, he decided that it was his cue to leave. Maybe it was a coward thing to do but he wasn't ready to face the boy just yet. Shame for not being able to prevent this current situation from happening was eating at him on the inside. He loathed himself for letting it happen.

He was now walking around town, thinking about everything that had happened and what it meant.

"You have such a gloomy face. It's really ugly!" a mocking voice told him, startling him from his dark thoughts.

Kakashi raised his head toward the voice and noticed that it was Jiraiya, who was looking at him, up from the roof of a house. Jumping down next to him, the Sannin jerked his head on the side, asking him silently to come with him. The silver haired jonin followed the older man to a bench near the river. Both men sat next to each other, looking at the river, the water shining like a mirror with the sunrays.

"I came along some information about the Akatsuki." Jiraiya told the jonin, whom was giving his undivided attention to the Sannin's words, "Whatever their plan is, it seems they won't go after Naruto for at least three or four years from now. Which gives me time to properly train him to become stronger."

"This is why," the toad sennin added, "I'm going to take him as my apprentice and train him for three years. As I said before, we'll travel around as I train him."

At this, Kakashi's body stiffened a bit. Three years… That was a very long time. Too long... He remembered how it had felt like an eternity when he had been away from the village for two years. He didn't know if he could stand not seeing Naruto for three years. He didn't want to be separated from him but unfortunately he had to. It was for the boy's sake. He had to become stronger. If he hadn't really liked the fact that Jiraiya was going to take care of Naruto from now on, he liked even less that the Sannin was now taking the boy away for such a long period. But he had to accept it. In fact it was a good thing in a way. The boy would get over this silly crush of his that he had over him. With time his feelings would fade away as he was away for his training. He would go on with his life.

"When are you going to leave?" the silver haired man asked.

"As soon as he is released from the hospital. I already talked with Naruto about this. " The older man replied before chuckling and adding with a fond smile, "He's really an idiot. I told him to give up on Sasuke but this fool didn't want to hear anything."

"He is a lot like you were with Orochimaru." The jonin commented with a small smile.

The sun was beginning to set in the horizon, making the sky glow in a reddish orange light. After talking a bit more with the Sannin, Kakashi took his leave and decided to go to the hospital thinking that the boy would be asleep by now. When he entered the small hospital bedroom where the blond was, the only light in the room was the one from the moon. The boy was sound asleep, the moon illuminating his sleeping face. As he sat on a chair next to the boy's bed, he looked at him more closely. The jonin then noticed how angelic the blonde's face looked when he was asleep. The light of the moon the boy's hair look almost silvery white. The desire to touch him, to caress his cheek and run his hand through the soft blond hair went through him as he watched Naruto sleep peacefully. He was so beautiful. When he would be older he would make more than one head spin.

"You know." Naruto began to say, startling the jonin badly in surprise, his eyes slowly opening to look at the silver haired man, "It's not because my eyes are closed that I can't feel your presence."

"I'm sorry if I have woken you up." Kakashi apologized softly.

"It's okay." The blond replied, adding with a small smile, "I'm happy to see you."

The latter words were said with a gentle, longing edge to it. Feeling that it could become a dangerous subject, as he knew the slightest show of affection toward the boy would give him hope, Kakashi decided to be distant.

"Naruto…" He said with a sigh.

"I know you said that you didn't feel the same way that I do, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up." Naruto interrupted him, his eyes looking straight at the man, "I'm going to prove to you that this is not just some childish crush that I have for you. I really do love you and I'm going to make you take responsibility for it. I'm going to make you fall for me."

"Huh?" Kakashi asked, looking stunned as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open at that last bold statement.

The boy was now looking at him intensely, with such a light of passion in his eyes that it made the silver haired man squirm slightly under his gaze. He felt like he was being undressed, and that a fire was being ignited all over his skin. He felt slightly guilty at having to reject the boy but he knew that a relationship between them was impossible. The age difference was too big to ignore it.

"What I feel is real. You'll never make me doubt it." The boy stubbornly told him with a huff, which the jonin couldn't help but think that it was cute.

At a loss for words, Kakashi sighed heavily, hanging his head down and putting his face in his hand.

"I think I'll let you get some sleep." The man said, slowly getting up and walking to the door "Have a goodnight."

"Next time come see me during the day." Naruto told him in a roguish reply, with an amused smirk.

A few days later, Naruto had been finally released from the hospital and was about to soon leave for his three-year training with Jiraiya. Right now, Kakashi was sitting in a tree, reading his Icha Icha for the umpteenth time. He didn't want to see the boy leave. He felt like it would be too hard to do it. So instead he had decided to avoid him. Suddenly, a voice startled him out of his reading.

"So this is where you're hiding!" Guy exclaimed with a smile smaller than usual, his voice laced with concern.

The jonin looked down at his self-proclaimed rival with curiosity.

"Hey Guy. What do you want?" he asked, with his usual laidback attitude as if nothing was wrong.

"Oh please! Don't give that!" the Green Beast of Konoha replied in a slightly annoyed voice, startling the silver haired man before he asked in a scolding tone, "Why aren't you seeing him off?"

"I don't see what you're talking about." The jonin replied, feigning ignorance.

"You could have at least told him goodbye or something!" the other added, his thick brows furrowed.

"What would have been the use?" he mumbled turning his head away, eyes looking in the distance.

"For one he would have known about your feelings for him. You can't leave him without at least telling him that you care more for him more than in just a friendly way!" Guy said impatiently.

At this, the silver haired man's body gave a slight twitch.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kakashi replied stubbornly, masking his emotions.

"Oh come on! Everybody knows that you are in love with Naruto!" Guy told him in exasperation, "And it's more than obvious that the boy shares those feelings."

"This is just a crush. He'll get over it and find someone else." He said in low sad voice.

"If it was just a mere crush I think he would already have moved on to something else." His friend replied in a softer voice, "Moreover from what I've seen, he isn't the kind to do have half-hearted feelings."

"Still… there is a huge age difference between us." The jonin said looking down at his feet.

"How much longer will you keep finding excuses!" the other suddenly exclaimed, sounding angry now, "When you learned about me and Lee you didn't object to our relationship. Why should you with this one? Why are you refusing to be happy for once?"

"I…I don't want to see him hurt." The silver haired man said in a whisper, "I made a promise to the Yondaime. It would be betraying his trust than being with the very son he asked me to protect."

"Oh snap out of it! Yondaime would have wanted the best for you both. And if it meant you two being together he'd have accepted it." Guy told him, "You love him right?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered softly, after a moment of silence where he realized that he couldn't deny it anymore.

He was in fact in love with the boy. And no matter how he kept repeating to himself that it was wrong, he couldn't help but fall more and more deeply for Naruto. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't see him as a kid but as someone brave, honest, loving and full of life. Someone who had managed to steal his heart.

"Well then what are you waiting for? Go tell him before it's too late!" his friend told him in a loud voice, "Don't let him leave the village, thinking you don't feel anything for him!"

Kakashi jumped down from his tree, facing Guy with a serious expression. After a few seconds, his face broke into a genuine smile, his eyes shining with renowned warmth.

"Thanks Guy." Kakashi thanked him before taking off, running as fast as possible toward the village's gate.

"You're welcome my youthful friend!" he heard Guy tell him as he was getting further away.

He was now jumping from roofs to roofs, hoping with all his heart that he would catch Naruto before he was gone. Finally, he arrived at the village's gate but there was no one around. He went to the two shinobis that were guarding the main gate. Kotetsu and Izumo looked at him approaching with curiosity on their face.

"Have Naruto and Jiraiya-sama passed through already?" he asked, praying that they hadn't.

"Ah yes they have…" Izumo said.

"About a half hour ago." Kotetsu added.

Kakashi felt his heart fall into the pit of his chest at this news. Because of his stupid stubborn self, he didn't get to tell Naruto about his feelings and now he wouldn't see him for three years. Turning dejectedly around, he walked back to his apartment, wishing that those three years would go by fast.

_TBC_

**Here you go! This is the longest chapter I've ever written! lol  
**

**I couldn't help but notice that I already have 99 reviews and I just want to once again thank you all for the support that this story is getting. I can't wait to reach the hundreds! :D Reviews are what makes me want to keep writing the story and gives me the inspiration to do so. So keep it up! ;D **

**I'm sure you all know what's coming into the next chapter and I hope you're all excited for it. Sweet little sixteen Naruto will come back to Konoha! =P **

**See ya!**


	15. Naruto's return

On the main path that lead to Konoha, two men were walking toward the big gates. One of them had long white spiky hair and looked much older than the other one. The other was a young man almost as tall as his companion, wearing an orange and black tracksuit. He had light blond hair and bright baby blue eyes that shined with stubbornness but also with a great deal of kindness. They finally arrived to the gate and walked into the street that was leading to the hokage tower. As they were walking, the young man suddenly dropped his backpack and began running up an electric pole. From the top he could see the whole village.

"I missed this place!" the young man exclaimed spreading his arms and taking a big gulp of air, taking in the familiar scent of his native village, "It hasn't changed one bit!"

As he towered the rooftops, he could see from afar the hokage monument where he noticed another figure. That was the face of Tsunade that was now carved forever in the stone.

"Hehehe! So they've added Tsunade-baachan's ugly old mug to the mountain!" Naruto exclaimed with a big grin.

Suddenly a deep familiar voice made the blond turn his head over his shoulder.

"You've grown a lot, haven't you Naruto…" Kakashi told him in a warm voice though his facial features and general body attitude looked carefree and didn't give out any emotion.

The older man was sitting on the rooftops, one of his Icha Icha books in hand. Though his external posture looked insouciant, the jonin was actually a bit nervous. Two and a half years had passed since Naruto had left for his training with Jiraiya and he was now 15 years old while Kakashi was 29. Seeing the boy, no the young man, again now was a bit overwhelming for the silver haired man. Naruto had changed so much since the past two years. Though he didn't know yet about his mental state, the blond had really matured physically. He was now taller, his muscles seemed to have developed a bit. He looked fit and the last remaining of his baby fat was gone. He was now almost as tall as him. All in all, he was handsome. If there hadn't been any physical attraction before, there definitely was some now. He had been right in his assumption that he would turn people's heads when growing up. As he looked at the young man before him, he felt a bit hesitant and nervous as he remembered the way they had parted.

"Yo!" the silver haired jonin added in greeting, with a wave of his hand as Naruto looked at him in silence, waiting nervously for the young man to say something.

"Kakashi-sensei!" the blond exclaimed with a big smile, acting as though everything was normal, before adding as he jumped on the same roof where was sitting the jonin, "Haha! You haven't changed at all!"

"Wait! Oh yeah!" the young man realized, his smile getting wider as he told the older man excitedly, "Hey! Hey! I have a present for you Kakashi-sensei!"

With that said, he took something out of a pouch at his waist. When Kakashi saw what it was, his eyes widened comically.

"Whaaat?" he exclaimed stammering a bit in stunned astonishment, "You… h-how…th…this is…"

The thing that Naruto was holding in his hand was the new Icha Icha: the Icha Icha Tactics that was not even released yet. Taking the book religiously with trembling hands from the young man, Kakashi had only eyes for it.

"This is the latest in the Icha Icha series after 3 years!" the blond told him apparently not noticing the entranced look on the silver haired man, "It's really boring but you'll still like it…I think."

"Thank you Naruto." The jonin said gently caressing the book cover as if it was made of a very fragile material, before looking at the young man with a big smile, "That was really thoughtful."

"You're welcome." Naruto replied with a soft smile, looking at the man with an indecipherable look in his eyes, before plastering a big grin on his face and adding, "Let's get down from here and join ero-sennin. I want to go eat some Ichiraku ramen!"

Naruto, along with Kakashi and Jiraiya not too far behind him, was now walking excitedly in a street to Ichiraku. Though he acted as though he was absorbed in his new Icha Icha volume, the silver haired jonin was watching discreetly the blond, a warm feeling steering in the pit of his stomach and he felt a strong desire to take him in his arms. He had missed the boy so much. The feeling to take the young man in his arms, to convince himself that he was back, was almost overpowering.

"As promised, I'll leave Naruto into your care…" the white haired Sannin told him quietly in a serious voice making the other man side-glance at him.

"I fear Akatsuki has been growing impatient…" the toad sennin continued still looking straight in front of him, "They may make an attempt on Naruto soon... I'm going to head around and gather as much information as I can…"

Those words from the older man were met with silent pondering by Kakashi, who stared at nothing in particular with a concentrated look and a slight frown on his face. Then, as they were approaching Ichiraku, they met Sakura along with Tsunade. As Naruto and Sakura were catching up, Konohamaru suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Naruto-niichan!" the boy called with a big grin before doing a quick series of hand seal, transforming in a puff of smoke into a very pretty and very naked brunette.

"Oh ho ho!" Jiraiya exclaimed with drool coming out of his mouth, his eyes leering the feminine form.

While the toad sennin was clearly showing his approval at the technique, the others expressions were more mixed. Sakura was looking in outraged astonishment at it while Tsunade and Naruto just looked impassive, looking at Konohamaru in silence. Kakashi was not even looking in his direction, as he had his back turned and was much more interested in his book.

"How was that?" Konohamaru exclaimed proudly, "A real drool of a jutsu wasn't it?"

Naruto let out a light chuckle, startling the people around him who looked at him in surprise.

"Konohamaru, I'm sorry but I'm not a kid anymore." Naruto told the boy with a soft mature smile, earning him looks of praise and respect from Sakura, before he crushed the kunoichi's expectations as he added in a loud voice full of passion, his whole body showing his enthusiasm, "Such a jutsu is now mediocre Konohamaru! Behold! The new perverted ninjutsu I've been developing! Here we goo!"

But before he could even do the seals of his new technique, the fist of the angry pink kunoichi sent him flying to the ground. She began to berate him while Konohamaru hid behind Kakashi, and both Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at them, both thinking that they looked like them.

"…Right? The Nostalgia ends here though." The Godaime told them, making Naruto feel grateful to her for having interrupted Sakura from beating the living daylights out of him, she called in a commanding voice, "Kakashi."

At that the jonin closed his book and turned toward his two former students.

"Well…It's been a while hasn't it?" he asked rhetorically, making the two others look at him in confusion before he explained, "From now on, The two of you will come with me on team-related missions. It's different than before. It's no longer teacher and pupil. Starting today, we are equal Konoha shinobis."

"Well… First I'm a bit curious as to how you've developed." The silver haired man added, jingling in front of them two very familiar bells, "The rules are the same as when I first met you. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll never succeed in getting the bells."

This last sentence earned him a confident smirk from both of his students.

'Interesting.' He thought, himself smirking internally, 'I can't wait to see how much they have grown.'

He led the two of them to the training ground where everything had begun, to the Third training ground.

"The rules are the same as before." He told them, the two bells softly jingling against his hips, where they were attached, whenever he moved slightly, "No matter how, try to get the bells from me. You have until sunrise tomorrow."

"Well… This place… I've missed it." Naruto said, looking around with a soft nostalgic smile on his face.

"Yeah." Sakura agreed.

"Ah that's right." Kakashi said, as he realized the emotional meaning of this place for them, "This is where you first trained isn't it?"

"Team 7..." The pink kunoichi replied with a nod.

"The three man team…" the blond shinobi said in a whisper.

"…That time…" the silver haired jonin began to say softly in remembrance, "…Sasuke was around too, wasn't he?"

At those words, the mood suddenly dropped and became heavy for Kakashi as he saw his two former students become depressed at the mention of Sasuke.

'Sasuke's name is a taboo word for these two huh...?' he thought feeling uncomfortable at the sudden change of mood.

As he clapped his book shut, the sound making the other two turning their heads to look at him, he looked up at the sky taking in a nonchalant attitude though his words weren't.

"Well then." he said, "Shall we begin?"

"Hehe… You won't do it while reading the book this time? Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto asked with a smirk, his hands behind his head.

"You've already finished it?" Sakura asked while putting her gloves on.

"No… I think I should save the enjoyment for later." The jonin replied while putting away his book in his back pocket before adding in a very serious voice while revealing his sharingan by readjusting his forehead protector, "Besides… this time, for some reason… I get the feeling I should take it a little seriously too."

After that, the match began. The way it had started reminded Kakashi of the first time they had done this, with Naruto running head first toward him. But, unlike last time Naruto and Sakura had gotten much stronger. The silver haired didn't even get one moment for himself since the start of this training. It almost made him regret that his beloved former students had grown so much since it meant not being able to read his book. Man he wanted to know what happened next! He was now hiding behind a tree, regaining his breath while watching where the others could be. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura were hidden not too far from where the jonin was. They were resting a bit as well against a tree, while looking at the sun that was slowly setting down in the horizon.

"I already knew it, but the sharingan really is amazing… And not only that, his seal-making speed… It's too fast for me to follow…" Sakura commented slightly panting, "If we could somehow stop him using both hands, we could get to the bells."

"Yeah… Kakashi-sensei is unreasonably strong." Naruto replied with a smile, while surveying his surrounding, "He's smarter than Shikamaru… And he has a better sense of smell than Kiba… He has better sharingan than Sasuke… And better taijutsu than Thick-brows..."

"But even Kakashi-sensei has to have a weak point…!" Sakura exclaimed, "If we think over it well…"

After thinking about it for a moment, the solution suddenly struck the blonde's mind as if it was the most obvious thing, which it really was. After chuckling maniacally, making the pink kunoichi look at him interrogatively, he told Sakura of his discovery.

"If we prepare like that, we can win with the initiative" Naruto finished to explain with a grin, "Let's get going!"

"Right! Let's go!" Sakura said excitedly.

As Kakashi was still warily looking at his surroundings, he suddenly caught two scents in the air that were all too familiar as he recognized them to belong to Naruto and Sakura. The scents were becoming stronger which meant that they were getting nearer from him.

'They're here.' He thought, getting ready for anything.

Suddenly Naruto and Sakura jumped from some bushes in front of him.

'They really have to be joking, making a direct attack…' he thought incredulous.

"Now, Naruto!" Sakura yelled at the blond.

"Yosh! Let's go Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled with determined eyes before saying with a mischievous smile, "The last joke in Icha Icha Tactics...! The truth is that the main character…"

Suddenly the jonin's eyes widen to the size of saucers as realization hit him.

"Wha…What?" he exclaimed in shock before quickly putting his hands on his ears to block the voice of the blond out, "Oh... Oh no!"

But then, he realized that he could still read the young man's lips with his sharingan so he quickly shut them close. When he opened them again, he saw his two former students shaking the bells in front of him with smug smiles.

Later, they were walking in the street chatting idly about everything and anything.

"Well… You have become strong, huh?" Kakashi said in awed wonder, "I'm amazed you were actually able to get bells."

"Hehe! Maybe I've even surpassed you Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto told him with a cocky grin, making Sakura scold him for being so conceited.

A comfortable silence settled between them while they were walking side by side, Sakura walking a bit ahead of them.

"Your training with Jiraiya-sama has really bore fruits Naruto." Kakashi told him with a smile.

"Yeah. It was hard but I put my whole into it." The young man said with a grin.

"You really have grown a lot. You've become a tall and strong young man." The silver haired jonin said warmly, watching the young man intently.

"Really? I don't feel like I have changed much." The blond replied with a slight embarrassed blush, scratching the back of his head in a nervous habit.

"Well you did." The older man told him with a smile before his face took on a serious expression, "Naruto... I'm sorr…"

The sound of Naruto's stomach suddenly interrupted him in what he was about to say, manifesting itself to show his hunger.

"Ah! Yeah! We haven't gone home or to Ichiraku ramen yet!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry after training from yesterday too…" Sakura said.

The silver haired jonin felt frustrated at having been interrupted. He had been about to apologize to Naruto for what he had told him and to tell him about how he really felt. Now his two students were talking excitedly about going to a restaurant and his chance to talk to Naruto in private was over. Disappointed, he decided to take his leave. He would talk to Naruto in private another time. He reasoned with himself that there would be plenty of other occasions for him to tell the young man.

Turned out that it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Every time he would manage to be alone with Naruto, every time he would be about to tell him, there would always be something or someone to interrupt them. One time it would be a cat jumping on the poor jonin as it was chased by genins, or special and urgent meeting call by the hokage. Of course he couldn't possibly punch the hokage for that, because one, she was a woman, and two, she had a more monstrous strength than him... One other time it had even been Guy darting in to challenge Kakashi to some competition. When the green wearing jonin actually did that, the silver haired man was so pissed that when he was asked what kind of competition it would be, he chose a taijutsu one. He beat up the other man so bad that the Green Beast of Konoha didn't dare approach him after that whenever he was with Naruto for a long time. Then the thick brows man told anyone he would encounter to be careful when approaching Kakashi and Naruto, which of course made everyone confused and think he had lost it. After that, Kakashi had felt much better than before as he vented all this pent up frustration on his friend/rival. This whole situation was beginning to make him lose his mind. He wanted to tell him. He wanted to tell Naruto all about his feelings, so that he could take him in his arms, hold him and make sure nothing happened to him. Patience was not exactly his forte and he was beginning to slowly run out of it.

Right now they were in the mission room, listening to Tsunade telling them their mission. Today was the day they would go on their first mission together as their new-formed team.

"Ehhh! That mission…no thanks!" Naruto exclaimed, while making a face.

"Eh? What kind of response is that?" Tsunade said, making a noise in annoyance with her mouth, "Well?"

'Please don't talk so selfishly…' Kakashi thought internally toward the blond, a cold sweat of dread breaking in the back of his neck at the thought of Tsunade-sama's infamous horrible temper, 'She'll get angry at me…'

"Gah… Naruto…You haven't mentally matured at all, have you?" Iruka asked rhetorically cringing, before putting his head in his hand, while looking at the young man in amused wonder.

"Sor…Sorry sensei!" Sakura apologized with a nervous hint in her voice, as she cuffed Naruto's head under arm, almost strangling him while squishing the top of his head with her other fist.

"The Third was more sensible…" Naruto mumbled under his breathe.

"Uh? What did you say?" the Godaime asked dangerously, while Kakashi quickly grabbed the mission's paper hoping to leave the room as soon as possible before the medic-nin began to yell, while Sakura was telling Naruto to shut up and threatening him.

Suddenly, the door opened abruptly to reveal a woman from the decoding shinobi unit, panting as she cried at the hokage.

"It…It's bad! Godaime!" she said alarmed.

"What is it? You're so loud…" Tsunade said frowning.

'Says the woman who's one of the loudest person I know.' the silver haired man thought as the image of Tsunade-sama, Naruto, Inari-san and Guy was imposing into his mind.

"The Sand's Kazekage has been taken by an organization called Akatsuki! We've just received the message!" the decoding unite female member told her in a hurried voice.

At hearing that, all the people in the room more or less let out a gasp in shock or got an expression that showed it. When Kakashi looked at Naruto, he could see the hard determined edge that the young man's eyes had taken. He already knew that the blond had decided he would go help rescue his fellow jinchuriki, and nothing would stop from doing so. With a soft smile at seeing the determination and stubbornness that he had missed so much to see when the young man was away, the silver haired jonin turned again toward Tsunade, waiting for her orders. Silently, the female hokage took back the mission's order paper that Kakashi had taken and looked at the three shinobis in front of her.

"…Right, Team Kakashi, I'll tell you your new mission." She said.

"You are to go immediately to the Sand, find out the situation and relay it to Konoha…" she told them sternly, "After that, follow the orders of the Sand and back them up."

"Yosh… Off we go!" Naruto said readjusting his backpack.

Him, Kakashi and Sakura had had half an hour to get ready to leave for the Sand, taking with them only the strict minimum. They were now at the village's main gate, about to take off to the Sand country.

"Ok Tsunade-shisho off we go." Sakura said with a smile.

"Ah…" the hokage said.

Naruto looked back at Tsunade and Iruka who were at the gate to see them off.

"Do your best." Iruka told him with a kind smile.

"Yeah!" Naruto replied with serious look.

As the young man was about take the first step and begin walking toward the Sand's village, he stopped suddenly when Jiraiya appeared right in front of them, surprising them all.

"Yo!" the toad sennin said as a greeting, before adding with a small smile, "Going on a mission eh Naruto?"

"Ossu!" the blond replied while doing a salute with his hand.

"Um, more importantly," the perverted Sannin said getting a more serious face, "Tsunade something terrible has happened. The Sand's Kazekage…"

"I know…" Tsunade replied interrupting him before pointing at Naruto while scratching her forearm, "I'm about to send these guys off to there now."

Jiraiya approached Tsunade before whispering something in her ear, a concerned frown on his face. He then walked a bit aside from the group.

"Naruto," he called wave at him to approach him, "come here for a sec.".

When Naruto had joined him, looking curious about what his shisho could want to talk about in private.

"Be careful when it comes to the 'Akatsuki'." He told him with a stern face, a hint of worry showing in his eyes.

"They've got something against me so…" the blond replied with a hard and resolute gaze, "This time I'm coming after them."

"Yeah you've gotten stronger and all…" Jiraiya said, putting a hand in front of him to stop the rant that he was sure would have followed, "But when you feel as though you are about to lose control, get a grip on yourself or you'll mess up. Becoming hot-headed too fast is your bad habit."

After that, Naruto let out a sigh of frustration, before slightly gritting his teeth.

"Naruto," Jiraiya added in a softer voice, "I know you know but…don't use that jutsu."

Naruto stared at him for a moment before lowering his gaze in resignation.

"I know…" he said softly, looking at the ground.

Nodding at this, Jiraiya then strode over to Kakashi.

"Kakashi… Make sure Naruto doesn't do anything stupid." He told the silver haired jonin with a worried look, "He's all yours."

"Yeah…" Kakashi said giving a big fake smile, though he was also worried about the blond.

Naruto then began to walk at fast pace, leaving everyone behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan let's get a move on!" he said not even glancing back at them to see if they were following.

"Wai-wait a minute Naruto!" Sakura told him running after him.

"Geez…" Jiraiya muttered, looking at his stubborn student walking away sullenly.

'Ah… Now he is sulking…' Kakashi thought with a sigh before turning back to the little assembly that was Jiraiya, Tsunade and Iruka.

"See ya." He told them with his usual wave, but an uncomfortable and embarrassed expression on his face, before taking off with his two students in the trees to the Sand country.

On their way, they met Gaara's sister, Temari, and informed her of the situation. Right now, Naruto was at the head of the group, jumping from tree to tree with a hard and resolute but also a pained face. As Kakashi looked at the blond, feeling the turmoil of emotions going through the young man at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to take him into his arms and comfort him but he couldn't do it, he didn't have the right to…not yet… Though he couldn't possibly know how Naruto felt exactly about the all situation with Gaara and the Akatsuki, he suspected that he must feel pretty upset about it. After all it was once again because of the demon inside of him that people were after him. He must take it as something really personal. Suddenly, he felt wistful as he remembered Jiraiya-sama's words: 'He's all yours.' The silver haired jonin knew he shouldn't have taken those words with the double meaning that could be interpreted from them. But he couldn't help but wish that Naruto was his. Deep regret filled him as he thought that he really shouldn't have pushed the blond away almost three years ago. Right now, all he wanted to do was to take the young man into his arms and hold him close to him to hear his heartbeat, feel that he is alive and well. He wanted to be able to talk with him about all and nothing, just to be in his presence, to be alone together with no one around to disturb them. And now they were going on a mission to save Gaara and most probably fight against the Akatsuki. Who knew what could happen? Of course, he would protect Naruto with his life but…what if he failed and died? He couldn't leave without at least having reestablished the truth and told Naruto of his true feelings. Shaking himself out of those morbid thoughts, he reasoned with himself that he was still alive and that he should rather enjoy all the moments in Naruto's presence right now. They would all make it out alive of this mission, and he would tell his feeling to the young man when they were back to Konoha.

'Yes... Please wait a little bit more Naruto.' Kakashi thought pleadingly, as he looked at the striking young man in front of him whom he thought looked handsome even when upset.

_**TBC**_

**I'm soooo so so so so sorry! It's almost been a month since I've last updated and I really feel bad. Life has been hectic for me between my part-time job, school and other stuffs such as preparing my expatriation to Dublin, Ireland… And the writer's block that I experienced didn't really help either as I wasn't sure which way to make this chapter go. **

**I swear I will do everything in my power to not take as much time for the next chapter as for this one. I apologize that it's a really short one but I didn't want to make you wait even more just to make a longer chapter.**

**Anyway I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless and thank you for your support. I always love to see new people adding my story or myself in their alerts and favorites, and leaving comments on the chapters. :) After a crappy day I love to read your reviews. **

**See ya!**


	16. Apologies & Confessions

**I have received an interesting flame not long ago complaining about Naruto being abused by the villagers in this story and about all the bad things that happen to him as well as other little things. So I just wanted to say two things. One, in the canon Naruto IS abused. Anyone who says otherwise has to see how the villagers treat him like trash, and don't want to have anything to do with him, while he apparently has to live by himself when he is just a kid. **

**Two, people are governed by their primal feelings, if they are afraid of something then anything related to the source of their fear will be feared as well, and when people are afraid they are like every mammal on this planet: they become violent and if the person related to the source of their fear is weak they won't hesitate to take it out on him/her even though he/she hasn't done anything. Human kind is disgusting like that. **

**Moreover stories can't all be going well from the start until the end. If it was the case then that would mean that it is a utopia and it would have no link with reality. Even in fairy tails and Disney movies there are bad things happening (I don't think Cinderella was a girl who was treated fairly and loved by her 'family'). Before having a happy ending you have to have trials so that at the end, you can savor fully how the characters will now live happily ever after. **

**I'll just finish by saying that there is a reason why I've chosen Hurt/Comfort as one of the genre for my story.**

**I'm sorry for this monologue but at first I didn't really pay any attention to this comment. This fic cannot possibly please everybody and I accept it. But then I wondered why it was attacking me so fervently so I tried to understand the whole meaning of this review (which you can't understand unless you read the reviewer's profile) and after seeing why this person had left me this review I wanted to make sure everyone understood (though I think if you still read my story it means you like it as it is so it's not much for you but more for me to express my point of view… ;) lol). I like to say what I think clearly…. =P I'm all for criticism but it has to be constructive and not badmouth just for the sake of it.**

**Anyway… Sorry again for this long chapter prelude. I have taken way enough of your time as it is… :S So here is the new chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

A week had gone by since team Kakashi had left for the Sand and Shizune was giving Tsunade a report of the situation that Kakashi had sent them. After team Kakashi had left for Suna, Tsunade had quickly sent Guy, Lee, Neji and Tenten to back them up. They had successfully rescued Gaara but at a price. One of the Sand village's elder, an old woman called Chiyo, had given her life to revive Gaara, as he had been on the brink of death after the Akatsuki had extracted his Bijuu from him.

"Team Guy and team Kakashi have completed their mission without a hitch," The medic-nin finished her report with, "and plan to return to Konoha after three days."

"Got it…" Tsunade said looking down at her desk with an unfocused look, seeming lost in thought.

"Um… Tsunade-sama." Shizune said hesitantly.

"What is it?" the Godaime asked raising her head to look at her former apprentice.

"Although it worked for this mission…" the younger woman started carefully, "Was it truly a good idea to send Naruto-kun a jinchuriki, to the people whose targets are Bijuus as Jiraiya said…?"

"Even though Kakashi Hatake, the former ANBU, was with him..." She argued further, "Why would you take that much of a risk with Naruto-kun?"

"Just that." the blond medic-nin replied, "Because he's a jinchuriki."

At the confused look on the dark haired young woman's face, the Godaime explained further.

"The only person who can understand a jinchuriki is a jinchuriki." She told her.

'And that's exactly why I sent a message to Gaara.' Tsunade thought with a hidden cunning smirk, 'Hopefully he will be able to get through the thick skull of the Hatake brat. I hope he'll be able to scare him into finally telling Naruto his feelings.'

Though she hadn't been around in Konoha for long, before Naruto had left the village for his training, but she had noticed nonetheless how both Naruto and Kakashi looked at each other. Of course she talked about it with Jiraiya saying that maybe they should help those two to get together as they didn't seem to have the guts to do it themselves. But the man had told her not to intervene, that they had to do it by themselves. Then something she hadn't expected had happened. One day she saw Naruto, the boy whose smile seemed to radiate even brighter than the sun, with a sad face. She learned later that he had confessed his feelings to Kakashi and that the jonin had rejected him. How dare that brat reject this boy whom she considered as her grandson? At that moment she had been so mad at the silver haired man that she had wanted to go beat the living daylights out of him but Jiraiya had once again persuaded her not to do anything and to let things unfold by themselves.

"Ah I wish I could be there to see the feared Gaara of the Sand having a talk with the copy ninja Kakashi Hatake." She murmured to herself with a wistful sigh as she imagined how the discussion between two of the most stoic and aloof persons she had ever met would go.

Back at Sunagakure, team Kakashi as well as team Guy were packing up, and getting ready to head back to Konoha. Temari and Kankuro had offered them to rest here for a few days and get their wounds treated but Kakashi had politely declined, saying that they needed to get back to Konoha as soon as possible to give their report. Right now the silver haired jonin was sitting on a bench, waiting for the others to be ready to leave. This new sharingan he had discovered had taken a lot of energy out of him both physically and mentally. So much energy in fact, that he couldn't stand on his two legs on his own for now. So because of that, he was forced to have Guy support him while going anywhere. How exactly he had attained this new sharingan? He had no idea. One day, he had been doing some meditation while kneading his chakra in different ways when he had felt something change as he was concentrating his chakra around his eyes, especially around his sharingan eye. After a few experiments he had discovered this new form of the sharingan. He had not purposefully tried to find it, as he didn't even know there was a different form to his sharingan. It was by sheer dumb luck that he had come across it. It seemed as though his sharingan had reacted to his strong desire to become more powerful to be able to protect Naruto from anything in the future. It was as if it had wanted to help him protect what was dear to him. Could it really be his love for Naruto that helped him attain this new level in his sharingan? He didn't know. But one thing was sure. He would do everything in his power to master it completely.

Leaning up against the wall behind him, the silver haired jonin let out a sigh as he looked up at the bright blue sky. Those last few days had been hectic. As they had fought to get Gaara back, he had seen Naruto troubled face. He had been able to feel the young man's distress as they were looking for the Akatsuki members who had taken Gaara. He had been so worried about the blond. He couldn't stand seeing him so worried and sad. He would do anything to see him smile that bright smile of his. He wished he could take him into his arms but he didn't have the right to do so...not yet. But soon he would be able to, if Naruto still wanted him of course.

As saving Gaara had been the main concern that they all had had, neither Naruto nor Kakashi had been able to talk to each other much. There had been few glances and some words of concern exchanged but that was all. The exchange had been limited as both parties felt it wasn't the time to talk of those sorts of matters when the life of someone was in danger. Moreover, the circumstances hadn't been ideal at all to delve on words to see what the feelings behind them could have been.

"Kakashi Hatake." A low, soft and slightly deep voice said, making the jonin lower and turn his head to look in the direction where the voice was coming from.

In front of him stood Gaara, dressed in simple black funeral clothes, staring at him with this undecipherable look of his.

"Is there something I can do for you Kazekage-sama?" Kakashi asked looking at the former jinchuriki interrogatively.

"Not for me." The stoic young man told him.

At this enigmatic answer, the silver haired man cocked his head on the side in confusion.

"But you could do something for Naruto." The red headed ninja added, staring at the jonin straight in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked becoming concerned, "Is he okay?"

"He is as well as he could be right now." Gaara said, looking at him intently, "But I'm sure he would do better if you were to admit your feelings for him."

This reply made the man look at the young Kazekage in surprise before letting out a sigh.

"Is there anyone on this earth who doesn't know of my feelings for Naruto?" he asked rhetorically, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Your hokage told me." The young man explained, before adding after a few seconds of silence in a solemn tone, "I see the way he looks at you. You know, you have the same look of longing on your face. I consider Naruto as my friend, and I don't want to see him hurt."

After this unusual long speech from the usually quiet Sand shinobi, Kakashi looked at the young man in front of him. There were no doubts that the young Kazekage was warning him with a clear threatening edge to his voice.

"Well you don't need to worry," the silver haired jonin replied with a serious face, looking straight into the red haired's green eyes, "I have come to terms with my feelings and decided to act on them. For the last two weeks, I have tried to confess to Naruto several times. But for the moment, every time I tried something or someone got in my way from doing so."

"I see." Gaara said thoughtfully.

"You know. I could die for him. I love him so much…I can't stand to see him sad or hurt." The jonin said while passing his hand through hair in an embarrassed manner, messing them up even more than usual and looking down at the ground, before calming down and looking up at the young Kazekage with an honest expression on his face, "I'm hoping to be able to tell him as soon as we are back to Konoha."

"I hope for you to succeed." The red haired young man told him, and added before turning around and leaving the silver haired man alone, "I wish happiness for the both of you."

Kakashi watched the young red haired shinobi walk away with a thoughtful look on his face, and before the young man was too far away he spoke.

"You are a very good friend." He told him with a smile, "I'm glad Naruto has you."

At his words, the young Kazekage stopped dead in his step and Kakashi could swear that he was smiling as he felt happiness come from the leader of the village of Suna. Without saying anything, the red haired started walking again, his steps seeming a bit lighter.

Later, when they were all packed and ready to go, they went to pay their respects to Chiyo's grave before leaving for Konoha. To Kakashi's mortification Guy, who had been the one to help him walk up until now, had had enough of their slow pace and had decided to give the silver haired a piggyback ride back to the village to go faster. When they had finally arrived at Konoha the silver haired jonin had lost consciousness… This airhead of Guy had ran so fast, without even paying attention of how he was manhandling his friend, that Kakashi's upper body had been roughly shaken around by the man's speed. He was now lying in a hospital bed, recovering from his many wounds and the drain from his new sharingan. When he had first come back to consciousness, he had woken up alone in a hospital bed. Though he had pretty much known why he was lying in a hospital bed again, Tsunade had come to see him not long after he had woken up to explain him everything, and also to threaten him to not leave his bed if he didn't want to face her wrath. That had been enough of a threat to make the jonin not even want to leave his bed to try and move even an inch in his bed. The blond medic-nin told him that it would at least be one week before he could leave his bed or eat anything solid at all. He was assigned to constant bed rest and fed through tubes. The most humiliating thing for Kakashi was that he had to be carried to the bathroom and couldn't clean or do anything himself, which meant he had an assigned nurse to take care of him. And guess who volunteered for the job?

"How are you doing today pansy?" a joyful and teasing voice asked him loudly.

Yes. Inari had been the one to volunteer to take care of Kakashi and get the privilege to see Kakashi in his weakest physical state and have lots of fun teasing him about it.

"Inari is that any way to say hello to someone." A deep voice admonished her, as someone coming into the room right after her.

Kakashi saw Iyashi enter the room with his usual calm smile on his face.

"Good morning Iyashi-san, Inari-san." The silver haired man said in greeting with a nod of his head.

"How are you doing Kakashi?" the medic-nin asked him as he turned into professional mode, rapidly checking the jonin's medical tab that was resting at the end of his bed.

"I'm doing okay though I would appreciate if we could talk about something else than my invalid state or anything other than medical stuff." The jonin said in a teasing though weary tone.

"Right, I'm sorry about that." The other man apologized sheepish, with a light embarrassed blush, "I tend to get all business like when I'm worried."

"Well you don't have to worry," Kakashi assured with a reassuring smile, "You'll see, I will be back on my feet in no time. My body just has to adjust to this new sharingan."

"Well that's good." Iyashi said with a small smile before taking on a serious face, "Do you know how Naruto is doing? We haven't seen him in a while and it's very odd to not have seen him around here since you are injured…"

"He left on a mission yesterday to gather some information on Orochimaru and possibly Sasuke." The silver haired jonin told him, his head turned to look at the window with a slightly concerned look on his face.

"What? But you just came back from your other mission yesterday!" Inari exclaimed in surprise, "How is it possible?"

Kakashi then explained to them the whole story about one of the Akatsuki members that they had vanquished, called Sasori, had had a spy in Orochimaru's lair and how they intended to get some information about Sasuke out of this spy.

"I wished I could have seen him before he took off again." Inari said with a pout, "I still haven't seen him since he came back to the village."

"Me neither sis', we'll just have to wait for him to return and have dinner together." Iyashi told her.

"Talking about Naruto," Inari began to say, as she seemed to remember something and turned to Kakashi with a serious expression, "Have you told him how you feel about him?"

"Not yet." The silver haired man replied, not even bothering to ask her how she knew about his feelings for the blond, "I plan on telling him when he comes back from his mission."

"Well you better hurry because I don't want to see him moping around anymore because you pushed him away." The nurse replied sternly, her hands planted firmly on her hips, "I had to pick up the pieces you know? When he told me you rejected him when he confessed I thought I was going to come see you and hit you until you were unconscious."

"I know." Kakashi said with a heavy sigh, "There isn't a day where I don't regret having done this. But at that time I thought it was wrong of me to want to be with him. I though he deserved better, and I still do, but I won't run away from my feelings anymore."

"That's good to hear." Inari said with an approving nod.

"By the way I'm curious about something." Iyashi said, turning the attention of the other two on him, "Since you are in the hospital… Who is leading the team?"

At that question Kakashi got a small knowing smirk as he remembered when he was introduced to his team's substitute.

_Flashback_

It had been a few hours since Kakashi had been awake. He had already been informed of what had happened between Sasori and Sakura, as well as what the puppet master had told the pink kunoichi. Of course there was the possibility that this information, about a meeting with one of his spy who gives him information about Orochimaru, could be a trap but the silver haired jonin knew that it wouldn't deter his two former students at all. When there was a chance for them to get some information to take Sasuke back nothing could stop them. Sometimes Kakashi wondered if it was very wise as he thought about how Sasuke had chosen this path on his own. But then again, if his own best friend had left the village like this, he would have chased after him too. He would have tried to beat some sense into him.

At this moment, he was sitting with his back comfortably, resting against the pillows that a nurse had brought to him, with Jiraiya standing next to him leaning against the wall. The Sannin had brought with him the whole Icha Icha deluxe edition collection as a gift for him to read while staying at the hospital as he was going to stay there at least one week or more. Suddenly both men heard people coming their way. They could hear him quite well since Kakashi had been put into an isolated aisle of the hospital for privacy reasons, as it meant that he didn't have to be as cautious about not letting his face being uncovered as he would have been if he had been resting in a more crowded part of the hospital where a lot of people pass through.

"Looks like they've arrived." The toad sennin said looking at the door, waiting for them to enter.

The silver haired jonin put down his book and did as the white haired Sannin, looking at the door expectantly. Jiraiya had told him that a man by the name of Yamato would be the one to be the interim captain of his team while he was recovering. He was really wondering what this Yamato guy would look like.

"We're here Kakashi." The voice of Tsunade-sama said, the sound muffled by the door.

"Come in." he said back politely.

The Godaime entered with a man right behind her, coming in after her. He had short brown hair, a mask style forehead protector that framed his face and had big black almond shaped eyes… Suddenly Kakashi realized who it was as he remembered him from his ANBU time.

"Long time no see, sempai." The man told him with a small smile.

"You're…" the jonin said as realization hit him.

It was Tenzo. He had grown rather well since the last time he had seen him. From what he could see, he was now almost as tall as him and had seemed to get more muscular.

"I see. So you are the one she called Yamato." He said thoughtfully.

"Yes. Yamato will be my code name while working as the interim captain for your team." The younger man told him in a formal voice, standing with his back straight to attention, as if he was giving in his report to a superior, which Kakashi guessed was kind of the case as he was his sempai.

"Yamato, huh?" he said more to himself than anyone, looking at him thoughtfully with a scrutinizing face.

But before they could keep on talking and reminisce the past, Tsunade asked for their attention. They then talked about Naruto and the Kyuubi seal that seemed to be weakening more and more as of late which worried Kakashi a lot. During their last mission, the young man had begun to lose control and let Kyuubi partially take control of his body. If Kakashi hadn't put a seal on his forehead, that Jiraiya had given him just in case something like this happened, then Kyuubi would have taken complete control of the blonde's body.

When they had finished briefing Yamato on everything he should know to deal correctly with Naruto and the rest of the team, Jiraiya, and Tsunade left, leaving Kakashi alone with Yamato.

"So…Yamato." Kakashi said, testing the name on his tongue, as he was not used to call the man in front of him by this name, "Do you feel ready to lead this team?"

"To tell you the truth I'm not sure how to handle Naruto…" the younger man said uneasily with a nervous chuckle, "Though she is temperamental as well, Sakura is easier to deal with a she has more self restraint. But Naruto is hot headed and is a bit unpredictable…"

"Yeah, he is known for that trait alright." The silver haired replied with a small laugh as he thought about how the blond had got the nickname of the most unpredictable shinobi, he then added with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. He might be a bit of a dunderhead sometimes but he is also very strong and kind."

"I'm sure he is. I'm just wondering how I'm going to deal with him and Sai." Yamato replied, scratching the back of his head in frustration.

"Sai?" Kakashi asked in confusion.

"The Root ninja who has been assigned by Danzo to replace Sasuke." The younger man explained.

"I see." The former ANBU said in a murmur, "And you say he doesn't get along with Naruto?"

"Yes. He always insults and makes fun of Naruto, which of course enrages the other." Yamato told him, "He says out loud what he thinks and doesn't care if he hurts or vexes people in the process. I think he also gets a certain satisfaction in poking people where he knows it hurts."

"Hmm. Well let's just hope they don't kill each other before the end of this mission." The silver haired man replied with a light laughter though Yamato didn't seem to find the reply really funny.

_End of flashback _

A week and a half later Naruto and Sakura were back from their mission with some very heavy news. Yamato had come to see him the day they had come back to tell him what had happened. This is how the silver haired jonin had discovered that their mission made them have a confrontation with Sasuke. According to the brown haired shinobi, the team's new member, Sai, was apparently getting along more and more well with his other teammates. The man had been truly surprised when his former ANBU teammate had told him that this kid from the Root, one of Danzo's protégé, had personally asked the hokage to stay in this team for a bit longer.

'Must be Naruto's influence.' Kakashi thought with a soft smile, as the image of the smiling blond appeared in his mind.

The young man's personality and cheerfulness was like a drug that you couldn't get enough of. His smile was a bright sun, illuminating your day and warming your heart. For the jonin, the blond was just irresistible. Talking about Kakashi's personal ray of sunshine, the silver haired man had been reading one of his Icha Icha for the umpteenth time when the door of his hospital room opened, revealing Naruto, Sakura as well as Sai. The look on the dark haired young man's face was undecipherable but the man could feel that he was studying him closely. After all he had made quite a name for himself in the ANBU. He was glad to see that they all seemed to get along, though he had been a bit worried when he had seen both Sai and Naruto hurt but Sakura had assured him that they had not gotten into a fight so he had stopped worrying, deciding that whatever had happened Sakura had dealt with it.

They talked together about Sasuke and how he had gotten insanely stronger in just a few years time.

"In that case, you'll just need to get even stronger than him, at a faster rate." Kakashi said after a moment, his eyes trained on the end of his bed with an intense, lost in his thoughts look.

"Yeah but how?" Sakura asked in a low sad voice.

Both Naruto and Sakura looked so depressed right now that it was making the jonin feel sad as well.

"You don't think I've just been sleeping here without thinking do you?" he told them his eyes still riveted on his book though he wasn't reading it anymore, "I was thinking the whole time… And…something came to me."

As everyone looked at him with batted breath, he raised his head to look at the three of them.

"Still, this particular method is best for someone like Naruto…" he continued, feeling the attention of everyone intensify even further, "Or rather… I should say, that it's really something that only he is capable of doing."

"With this training, Naruto..." the jonin added looking at the blond with a serious look on his face, "You might even surpass me in a way of speaking."

He then explained in a vague definition, as he didn't want to disclose everything, the sort of training it would be. When the explanation was finally over, they talked a bit more before they decided to take their leave.

"Well sensei, we'll let you alone now." Sakura said, starting to go to the door.

"It was nice to meet you Kakashi-san." Sai told him with a polite bow, before following Sakura.

"I guess I'll see you for our training when you are better." Naruto said squirming a bit awkwardly before beginning to walk toward the door, shuffling his feet.

"Naruto wait a minute I need to talk to you about something." Kakashi told him, stopping the blond in his steps.

The blond turned to look at him with both a curious and slightly confused look on his face, returning to the jonin's side.

For a moment, an awkward silence settled between them as Kakashi was trying to decide how to formulate correctly the things he wanted to say, while Naruto was becoming more and more nervous and impatient as he wondered what the man could want to say to him. After letting out a sigh, Kakashi looked at Naruto.

"Well I guess there is no other way to say this but…" the silver haired man began to say, passing nervously a hand in his hair, "First of all I wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I rejected you when you told me your feelings. I'm also sorry to have told you about your childhood in this manner but that's not what's most important right now. Well it is also important of course but it's not as important as…"

Realizing that he was beginning to ramble, the jonin stopped himself and took a deep breathe before looking at the blond in the eyes with a soft apologetic gaze.

"What I meant to say with all this, is that I apologize for the way I behaved" the man told the young man.

"Don't worry about it. I'm pretty tough." the young man replied, squirming on his feet uncomfortably.

"That's not all. I also wanted to say that I..." the older man began to say.

But he didn't get to finish as someone burst into the room, opening the door loudly.

"Good morning everyone!" the Green Beast of Konoha exclaimed loudly, a large cheerful grin on his face, "How are you all doing on this fine day?"

When he didn't hear any answer, Guy looked at the two men in front of him who were both looking at him in annoyance. Kakashi for being once again interrupted when he wanted to tell the blond, and Naruto for wanting to hear what the silver haired man wanted to tell him. At seeing them standing so close to one another, the green wearing man got the wrong idea and began to open his mouth before anyone could prevent him from doing so.

"Ah! I see you've finally told him your feelings! That's good that's good!" the man said with a big grin, "I wish for you both to experience that same happiness I have with Lee! Love is really something wonderful!"

Once again no answer... This time when the thick brows man looked at them, what he made him go wides eyes for a second before he paled slightly in realization. The mood in the room was really uncomfortable. Right now, Kakashi looked like he wanted to throttle Guy, while Naruto held a look of complete confusion as he looked between the two.

"Huh? What are you two talking about?" he asked a confused frown on his face.

"Well I guess I'm going to let you two alone... Bye!" the green wearing man said while he left the room as fast as possible.

"Ne Kakashi-sensei what did he mean by that?" the blond asked with insistence the older man.

"Well, I didn't really want it to happen like this but..." the silver haired man began, scratching the back of his head in frustration, "there is another reason why I wanted to talk to you today. You see... I felt bad for having rejected you the way I did not only because it was wrong, but also because...well because I was selfishly in love with you as well."

The blonde's look of confusion soon began becoming one of anger at hearing this.

"Is this some kind of sick joke? Are you playing with me?" The blond asked dangerously.

"I assure you I would never do that to you Naruto." The silver haired jonin told him in earnest.

"So let me get this straight." The young man said in a controlled voice, though tremors began to be heard when he continued, "You made me believe that you didn't return my feelings when in fact you did correct?"

"Yes." Kakashi said in a low voice guilty voice, feelings like a child caught having done something wrong.

"You tried to make me give up on you when in fact… Don't you dare avoid my eyes!" Naruto suddenly yelled at the silver haired man who had lowered his gaze in shame, his blue eyes shining with tears that threatened to come out.

Startled at the sudden outburst, the older man looked up at the blond in front of him who was on the verge of tears. He felt a painful twinge in his heart at seeing his personal sunshine sad, not wanting those beautiful blue eyes with grief in their orbs, he grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled him into a hug, the sudden gesture making the young man lose his balance and partially sit on his lap. At first Naruto struggled a bit against the man's hold but soon his body sagged in surrender and he cried on Kakashi's shoulder, letting his tears fall freely from his eyes, his hands forming fists in frustration.

"I'm sorry Naruto for what I made you go through." The man said in a soft voice, while petting the feather soft blond hair, "I was afraid and stupid. But thankfully I have some good friends who don't hesitate to shake me up from time to time."

"You're a real bastard. You know that?" the young man mumbled, his face buried into his chest.

He seemed to have calmed down a bit and was breathing normally though with still some tremors going through his body as an after-effect of his crying.

"I know I know." The older man said with a light relieved chuckle at having the boy's forgiveness though he didn't deserve to have it so easily, "I'm so sorry about everything."

"You better be." The young man mumbled back, "You know I wanted to be the one to sway you. I wanted to make you fall in love with me...And you took that away from me you selfish bastard."

"I'll do anything to make up for it." Kakashi told him, still petting the blonde's hair.

"Oh there are many things you'll have to do before I can fully forgive you. But for now let's start with a date as soon as you are recovered and out of the hospital." Naruto said, his left cheek, and the left side of his face in general, now lying against the older man's chest.

"Anything you want." The silver haired man replied, gently placing a kiss on top of the young man's head, holding the blond in his arms like he was something precious and fragile.

After that, they talked for a little of while about idle things. Mostly it was Naruto chatting more or less animatedly while Kakashi listened to him, looking at him with a loving gaze. The silver haired man thought that this cheerful version of the blond suited him much better. He just couldn't stand to see even a flicker of sadness in those beautiful sky blue eyes. So he was glad he was happy again.

"You know it's not quite the same to do missions without you." The blond suddenly told him.

"Is that so?" the older man asked in a light carefree tone, trying not to sound smug at the idea that he was irreplaceable.

"Yeah. Without you Kakashi-sensei as our team captain it feels odd." Naruto said with a little pout that made the other man coo interiorly at the cute sight.

"You know Naruto you can call me Kakashi when we are just the two of us." Kakashi told the young man, not resisting the urge to caress the blonde's cheek.

"Well I don't know if I can. After all we didn't even go on a date yet." The blond replied cheekily with a grin, adding in theatric solemn voice, "You know I have principles. I don't call people I barely know by their first name before they've taken me on a date."

"Hm but I do know you since I've taken care of you when you were just a baby." The silver haired man told him in the same cheeky tone of voice as the blond, playing along with him.

"Yes but I don't." the young man replied, with a smug look, "So I'll keep calling you Kakashi-sensei until you take me on a proper date."

"Moreover," he added with a mischievous smirk, "It's kind of kinky."

"You really have been spending too much time with Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi told him, feeling a bit shocked at the young man's salacious attitude.

'I guess I still thought of him as innocent.' He thought with a slight smile before feeling sweat drop rolling on the back of his head as a thought went through his mind, 'But then again… When you live for two and a half years with Jiraiya-sama it tends to obligatorily rub off on you.'

"Did not!" the blond protested with a small blush before pointing at him accusingly, "You are the pervert one! Always reading those nasty books! At least Yamato-taicho is not one! That's the only thing he has on his side."

"What do you think of Yamato as a captain?" the jonin asked, curious to know how the new and shy ANBU recruit he had known had grown.

"He is ok I guess." Naruto said with a shrug.

"He has some incredible techniques and is quite skilled." He continued thoughtfully as if he had remembered something, before adding with a shiver, burrowing his back into Kakashi's chest as if he wanted the man to protect him from some unknown force, "And he makes some very scary faces."

"Really? I never knew he could be so scary." The silver haired man commented with interest.

"You already know him?" the blond asked taken aback.

"We did some missions together." The jonin replied noncommittally, trying to avoid saying too much as everything about the ANBU was top secret.

"Sounds fishy." The blond said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"What about your new teammate? Sai was it? How is it going with him?" the older man asked to change the subject.

The young man looked at him cautiously with a hint of something that Kakashi thought he recognized but wasn't sure of what it was. But before he could get deeper into what this light in the blonde's eyes could be, Naruto turned his head on the side, glaring at nothing in particular.

"He is an emotionally and socially handicapped idiot." The younger man grumbled, "Though he is better than when I first met him. I had thought he was a hypocrite total jerk."

"He also has some creepy obsession about penises." He added in a mutter, not noticing the light blush that the jonin sported at the use of this word in his mouth.

Naruto remembered the day he had learned that Sai would take Sasuke's place in team Kakashi. It was not long after he had met the Root shinobi in very unpleasant circumstances, and he was not happy to say the least.

_Flashback_

Naruto and Sakura were face to face with Sai. Naruto had taken a threatening posture, as he had taken his kunai out, against Sai who had a hand on his katana, ready to unsheathe and defend himself.

"Knock it off Naruto-kun." Yamato said, walking up to the little group.

"Hey, come to think of it, who are you?" Naruto asked curious.

"Could you be..?" Sakura began to ask as she realized who he must have been.

"I am acting as the team's interim captain while Kakashi-san is in the hospital." The brown haired man told them calmly, "Please call me Yamato."

"Yamato-taicho?" Sakura said thoughtful as if testing the name on her tongue.

"Since you guys are on the same team, it'll cause a lot of problem if you don't get along." The older man said, his face not showing his true emotions.

"Same team… As him?" Naruto asked surprised, while pointing a finger at the Root ninja.

"I'm sorry about before," the dark haired young man said with smile that was totally fake, before adding, "I wanted to know how strong you were, since we're on the same team."

"You didn't have to go that far…" the blond said calmed down, as he put back his kunai into his sleeve.

"Thanks to our little encounter, I learned you're a useless, pantywaist with no balls." The other young man told him, with still this infuriating smile on his face.

Sakura gasped in shock audibly at his vulgar remark. While Naruto saw red at that remark and would have leapt at him if the pink haired kunoichi hadn't been there to keep him back.

"What was that, you asshole?" the blonde yelled, wanting to beat the other man into a pulp, his arms flailing in every directions.

"He's our teammate now, don't start fights with him!" Sakura told him, while still restraining him with all he strength as Naruto struggled against her, she then looked at Sai with her brows furrowed slightly, "And you, you're really being a jerk."

"Ahaha… Really?" the young man said with this smile of his.

"If you keep acting like that, everyone will hate you." The pink kunoichi told him.

"Oh? But I really like ugly bitches like you." The dark haired young man replied, making Sakura blink as she registered the information while Naruto was the one to gasp in shock.

The pink haired girl was the one to see red this time, as she tried to jump on him and break his neck in anger.

"What was that, you asshole?" she yelled in anger, her nostrils flaring dangerously.

She would have succeeded if Yamato hadn't stopped her in the same manner she had stopped Naruto from doing the same.

"Remember what you just said to Naruto-kun!" Yamato told her while restraining her.

After Sakura had Naruto had calmed down enough that they didn't try to throttle the Root shinobi, Yamato began to explain the situation.

"Anyway, the four of us will start our mission soon…" the brown haired man said while scratching his temple in a nervous manner, as he looked worriedly at the three young persons in front of him, "And, well, we're not going to have many chances to get to know each other. So, introduce yourselves!"

"Tch! Naruto Uzumaki." The blond grumbled, glaring sideways at Sai.

"I'm Sakura Haruno." The young woman replied, glaring also at the dark haired young man, a vein ticking on the side of her forehead.

"My name is Sai." the dark haired young man said, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Their temporary team captain then began to explain them their mission.

_End of the flashback_

At the time, Naruto hadn't thought much about Yamato-taicho. Though it felt weird not having Kakashi-sensei leading the team, the blond tried not to think too much about it.

While he had been away from the village, he had had time to think about the whole thing with Kakashi and his feelings for his former sensei. After thinking about it for a while, he had come to the conclusion that maybe he could try to seduce him step by step. The older man's rejection two years ago had been a hard hit. Even though he hadn't shown anything on the outside, the fact that the man had used the fact that he had raised him, for more or less a year when he was just a baby, had been a real shock. But the young man hadn't wanted to give up at the time and still didn't want to. After all they weren't related by blood. Why should the fact that the silver haired jonin had changed his diapers, when he had just been toddler, change anything about his feelings? The young man had come back from his training with Jiraiya stronger and even more determined to make Kakashi fall for him than before. But his plan had had to be reported, as he had had to go save Gaara only a few days after he had come back. After that the information that Sakura had got from a member of the Akatsuki had made them prepare everything in haste to go on another mission, as Kakashi-sensei had been hospitalized.

Because of all this, he had had barely time for himself, and to set his seduction plan in motion as a result. At first he had not been really thrilled to have someone in the stead of Kakashi. But Yamato-taicho had proved to be someone reliable though a bit scary at times when he wanted you to do something, the way he wanted you to, but all in all he was nice enough. However when Sai had been picked to replace Sasuke, Naruto hadn't liked that at all. He had developed an instant dislike toward the dark haired shinobi. Who did that guy think he was huh? He was so unpleasant and vulgar! Then after a few days spent with him, Naruto slightly began to like him better. And, when they were finally back to the village, he had been disconcerted when the other had seemed to genuinely want to become friends with him and Sakura, though he was clumsy at it. This guy was so weird. He was even weirder than Yamato-taicho, or even weirder than Kakashi-sensei when he was reading those filthy books or looked at you with this creepy face that seemed to tell you he knew something you didn't…

"What are you thinking so hard about?" the deep comforting voice of the silver haired jonin brought him back to reality, shaking him out of his daydream.

"I was thinking about how scary you can look sometimes." The blond replied with a cheeky grin, making the jonin's eyes widen slightly.

"Scary?" the older man asked surprised.

"Yeah. You've got this look where people don't know what you really think but we are not really sure we want to know either." Naruto told him with a wink, smirking, before putting the left side of his head back on the man's chest, and letting out a sigh of contentment, "But don't worry, though you can be scary on certain occasions you are the most handsome man I've ever met."

Suddenly realizing what he had just said, the blond became as red as a tomato in embarrassment and turned his face into the man's hospital clothes. For some time nothing was by either of them, then the silver haired man spoke up.

"So you think I'm handsome?" the jonin asked, his voice sounding smug and teasing.

"You're taking your dreams for reality." The blond replied gruffly, his voice muffled by the hospital clothes of the older man.

"Right…" the silver haired man drawled, chuckling lightly as he put a kiss on the mop of blond hair.

Then out of nowhere the young man let out a snicker. The older man could feel him smirk through his clothes.

"What are you thinking about now?" Kakashi asked him, an eyebrow raised amusedly in question.

"About that super awesome date you'll have to take me on to be forgiven." Naruto replied with a mischievous, somewhat evil, glint in his eyes and a huge grin on his face.

'Oh boy…' the silver haired man thought, a feeling of dread creeping into the back of his neck, 'Why do I have the feeling I've dug my own grave?'

_TBC_

**Here you go! What did you think of it? It certainly must have been more fulfilling than the last chapter. When I have time I'm thinking of enriching it since I had sort of rushed.**

**Thank you once again for all the support this story is getting. It wouldn't be where it is right now if it wasn't for you. Reading your reviews always makes me happy.**

**See ya!**


	17. A Cocktail of Joy and Sorrow

It had been now three weeks that Kakashi had been confined to bed rest in this awful hospital room. The silver haired man couldn't wait to get out of here and breath the fresh air from the outside world and eat some real food. For the last three weeks he had had to be fed through tubes. He was looking forward to eat some real solid food. Maybe a steak with some fried rice… The thought of it was making his mouth water. Moreover, the smell of chemicals in the air and the white walls and ceiling were hurting both the jonin's eyes and sensitive nose. Kakashi really hated hospitals.

But fortunately, he had the most delectable person to keep him company. Since the silver haired man's confession, Naruto hadn't wanted to lose sight of the man at all. It was quite cute how the young man was staying by his side as if he was afraid that he might vanish or something. In fact he had had a quite heated argument with Tsunade, which in the end resulted in the female medic-nin putting another bed in the room, so that the blond would have something comfortable to sleep on. Right now, the young man was sleeping soundly on the hospital bed that had been provided for him, while Tsunade was walking in the room and went to Kakashi's side, with Inari as well as Sakura beside her. She began scanning his body and making sure all his vitals were good. After she was done, she looked at the jonin with a pleased look on her face.

"Everything seems fine." She told him with an approving nod, a smile on her lips, before adding when she saw the hopeful look on Kakashi's face, "Okay we'll discharge you today."

"Is it because you want me to get rid of the extra 'baggage' over there?" Kakashi asked, in a tone with barely hidden amusement as he glanced at the sleeping blond.

The young man was snoring, oblivious to the world around him, his arms and legs wrapped tightly around a bolster, while drooling on it. He was wearing a pair of sleeping shorts and a T-shirt that was riding up a bit, exposing some of the skin of his hips and back. He seemed to have a pleasant dream as he was mumbling incoherently with a smile on his face, rubbing his cheek against the pillow while purring slightly. Then, they heard him say something clearer than everything else that he had said before.

"Kashi…" he mumbled in his sleep, furrowing his head further into the pillow, his light blond hair tousled cutely around his face that was looking so peaceful right now.

At hearing this, Kakashi blushed heavily as he recognized the nickname he had been called by Naruto when he was a baby. As for the others, Inari got a huge grin on her face as she looked between the two men, while Sakura looked confused as she was probably wondering what 'Kashi' meant, and Tsunade looked like she was disappointed or something.

"Excuse me, I need to go find Iyashi." Inari said in a singsong tone of voice, a skip in her step as she excitedly left the room.

"Urgh! When Jiraiya finds out he's won, he's gonna make me go on a date with him." The blonde hokage groaned as she began to leave, with a sulky look on her face she added something under her breath before leaving the room that everybody nonetheless heard, "Stupid bet."

Sakura looked at Inari-san and her shisho leaving with a confused expression, she then said goodbye to her former sensei before leaving the room too. When the door was closed after the pink haired kunoichi, Kakashi let out a sigh before looking at the blond who was still sleeping without any care in the world. He looked a bit longer at the young man, a soft smile on his lips. Deciding that he would wake him up to tell him the news, the jonin slowly stood up. His legs wobbled slightly for a few seconds before settling. He was glad to see that he could stand on his legs pretty well even though he hadn't used them for the last three weeks. Then, he walked up to Naruto, who was still sleeping obliviously. When he arrived at his bedside, he kneeled down at his level. His sleeping face was so angelic with his blond hair framing his face. It looked almost like a halo when the sun hit it at the right angle.

'He is so cute.' Kakashi thought as he gently put a strand of blond hair behind the young man's ear.

"Time to wake up sleepyhead." The older man said, only getting as a response a small moan, he then tried again shaking the young man's shoulder this time, "Naruto wake up."

In his sleep, Naruto suddenly grabbed the silver haired man's arm with surprising force and snuggled up to it, almost throwing the other off balance.

"O-Oi!" the silver haired jonin exclaimed startled.

This time the man's startled cry woke the blond up. Blearily, he looked around at his surroundings, his eyes finally resting on Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said confused, still slightly out of it but slowly waking up.

The young man then looked down to the jonin's arm that he was holding against him in a death grip. As he realized what he was doing, he blushed heavily and released the man's arm, looking embarrassed.

"S-sorry." The blond mumbled, his cheeks getting a nice shade of red on them.

"It's ok." The older man told him, with a gentle though slightly embarrassed smile as well, adding as he pushed back blond bangs that were partly hiding the blonde's face, "I'm the one who is sorry for having woken you up like that. You just startled me a bit when you grabbed onto my arm like that…"

Naruto's face got even redder at this. He had been having a wonderful dream where he was in the arms of Kakashi, and things were gradually getting hot and heavy. In his dream they had been kissing and had started to slightly hump each other, when the older man woke the blond up. So when he opened his eyes to realize that he had a grip on Kakashi's arm, he felt pretty embarrassed.

'I hope I didn't say or do anything embarrassing in my sleep.' The young man thought, playing with his fingers and looking at the bed sheets like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

The silver haired jonin looked at him with an tender gaze at the cute sight of Naruto trying unsuccessfully to hide his embarrassment.

"Tsunade-sama just came here a few minutes ago." Kakashi told him, making the blond look up at him in interest, his embarrassment forgotten, "She said that I could leave today."

"Really?" The young man asked excitedly, a wide smile on his face, "So that means we'll finally have this date!"

"And don't forget about training." The jonin reminded him in mock severity.

"Right." The blond said grinning sheepishly.

Later that day, Kakashi was going back to his apartment. The inside of his flat was covered in dust and smelled stuffy, since he hadn't been in it for three weeks. He then began to vacuum, and dust off the place, starting a washing machine and picking his mail up. When he was all done, he felt a bit exhausted, as his body wasn't recovered yet enough to be so active. The silver haired man looked at the clock that said it was half past three. He was meeting up with Naruto for their date at five, he was going to pick the young man up at his flat. He had told the blond to put on a kimono, as today was coincidentally the village's festival. It was a happy accident that the jonin was glad it had happened. Since he still had some time left before he met up with Naruto, Kakashi decided to rest for a while. He dozed off for a full hour before he woke up and got ready for his date with the young man. The silver haired man was getting more and more nervous by the minute as he thought about his date with Naruto. It was beginning to get into his head that he was actually going to have a date with the blond. Their first date… After having dreamed and longed for the last two years to be with the young man, and it was finally becoming reality.

He went to his bathroom to freshen up a bit and then put on his kimono. He then left his place to go pick Naruto up. He quickly arrived at the young man's man flat. He knocked at the door and waited for the blond to come out. When the door opened and Naruto came out, the jonin felt his heart stop in shock at the sight in front of him. The young man was wearing a light blue yukata with white dragonflies printings on it and an obi of a darker blue around his waist. Along with his blond hair and sky blue eyes, he looked just so beautiful. The silver haired man looked at the blond with his mouth wide open, his eyes detailing him from head to toe. A blush adorned the blonde's cheek as Kakashi was checking him out with an awe glint in his eyes. But he wasn't just blushing because of the older man's gaze. He was actually quite enthralled himself by the sight of the silver haired man. His kimono was of a light cream color with dark blue tiger printings. With his skin of a normal milky white color, this kimono was giving him a certain glow. The kimono was outlining his lean figure perfectly. His mask that was like a second skin, with its midnight blue color, was standing out nicely on him. He looked drop dead gorgeous. Then suddenly, they both seemed to realize that they were gawking at each other. They quickly looked away, their cheeks warming in self-consciousness. Kakashi made a noise in the back of his throat before looking at the blond.

"Hum. You look really good." The silver haired man said with a gentle smile, looking at the young man tenderly.

"Thanks." Naruto said blushing and giving him a soft smile back, acting shy all of a sudden.

"We should get going if we don't want to miss the start of the festivities." The older man told the blond gently, motioning for him to follow him, before adding with a smile, "I have prepared something special."

"Well let's go then!" the young man replied with a big smile.

They then began walking down the streets, bright colored paper lanterns hanging from the buildings by some strings that crisscrossed the streets. People were chatting and laughing together outside, a joyful atmosphere floating in the air. Kakashi took them to the park where a stage had been installed for the occasion where a group of shamisen musicians was about to play. He led them to a recluse, slightly hidden, place where they settled down on a blanket that the jonin had brought in a summoning scroll. The jonin then took out another summoning scroll and summoned a basket full of different types of food. The silver haired man had prepared them while he had tidied his apartment up. Thanks to the summoning scroll, it had kept the food warm. There were fried noodles, dumplings, and sweet crunchy croquettes, as for the beverages there was a thermos of floral tea as well as a small bottle of sweet potato liquor. All this display of dishes and the mouth-watering smells coming off from them was making Naruto go wide eyes and drool in anticipation at the idea to taste them all.

"I'm sorry there isn't much choice but I didn't have time to do more." The lanky jonin said, scratching the back of his head in nervousness as he looked at the young man.

"Did you do all this yourself?" the blond asked looking at the older man in awe.

"Hum yeah. It's nothing special but…" Kakashi began to say, a small blush on his cheeks.

"Are you kidding? It's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed in admiration, a big smile on his face, "The only thing I can do in the kitchen is to poor the hot water in my instant ramen cup! Where did you learn how to cook?"

"Just a few years ago," the older man said, embarrassed, "Inari-san managed to convince me to start cooking. She said to me that I should learn that skill if I didn't want to die one day from an overdose of junk food and instant meals. She gave me some lessons and then I practiced by myself…"

"Wait you know Inari-neechan!" the blond exclaimed astonished.

"Didn't I tell you?" the silver haired jonin asked him surprised, "She lived with me when I was taking care of you."

"I see." The young man said frowning, his jaw clenched and his lips forming a thin line.

"Not in this way!" the older man hurriedly exclaimed as he realized how his statement must have been interpreted by the blond, "She was there as a nurse to help me with raising you correctly that's all!"

"I could never see her in a romantic light." He added, while making a face to exaggerate his point.

"It's okay. I believe you. It was just quite a shock that you actually knew Inari-neesan." Naruto told him with a small smile, feeling relief at this news, before he added with a smirk as he began to serve himself some food, "Is there anything else I should know?"

They then began to talk as they ate, Kakashi telling Naruto everything about how he knew Inari as well as Iyashi. He also told him some anecdotes about when he was a baby, which made the blond sometimes chuckle and sometimes feel a bit emotional. The silver haired man felt grateful that the blond didn't ask him anything about his parents, as he carefully avoided anything that could relate to this subject himself. They talked about a lot of things, from ninjutsu to the latest book they had read, though for Kakashi the matter of books was quickly going around in circle, as he didn't really try to read anything else than Icha Icha. The conversation went on and on in a companionable and slightly flirty mood. Sometimes their hand or shoulder would 'accidentally' brush each other, they would always keep eye contact, conveying their deep emotions to one another through their pupils. When they were finished with their meal, they stood up and put back everything in the summoning scrolls before walking to the main streets where the festival was in full swing. The night had already fallen in the village and the paper lanterns were now lit. The glow that the lanterns were giving off to the streets was beautiful. It gave a distinct warm atmosphere that was comfortable and seemed to agree with the people, as everyone was in a joyful and relaxed mood. They walked between stands where food and goodies were sold, and where games were played. They first stopped at a stand where they had to throw small hoops through the top of glass bottles. The goal was to manage to put as many hoops as possible on the bottles. A fierce battle between the two of them then ensued to see who would put the most hoops through the bottles. Kakashi won, though by a small margin. As a prize, the jonin took a big fox plushy and gave it to Naruto who held it tightly against him, with a faint blush and a happy smile on his face. Then they continued to walk in the street at a soft pace, taking their time to enjoy the different activities of the festival. Naruto suddenly stopped, as they were passing by a stand that sold masks. Curious about what could have caught the blonde's interest like that to make him stop abruptly, the silver haired man stopped as well and turned to Naruto.

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi asked, looking at the blond with curiosity.

"That mask…" the young man simply said, seeming deep in thought as he stared with a transfixed look at the mask in question.

As he followed the young man's gaze, he realized that he was actually staring at a wolf mask that was actually the same style as his former ANBU mask.

"I don't know why but this mask reminds me of something but I don't know what…" the blond said frowning, frustrated that he couldn't remember why this mask seemed so familiar to him.

Fearing that they slip on a dangerous subject that he could not unfortunately talk about in the slightest way, at least not yet, the older man decided to divert the young man's attention.

"I think I saw a ramen stand nearby do you want to go there?" he proposed which immediately got the attention of Naruto, who practically dragged him to the stand to get a bowl of his favorite food.

After Naruto was finally happy with the number of bowls of ramen that he had eaten, he and Kakashi went to the riverbank where the fireworks' viewing was going to happen. A lot of people were already there, but the two men found a nice spot and sat down next to each other on the blanket they had previously sat on. Not long after they had sat down the fireworks began. The colors were so beautiful and bright. The pyro technicians had done a really wonderful job. As they watched the show, they felt like they were in another world. Their fingers were softly touching each other. Slowly, they each slid their hand into the others', intertwining their fingers together and holding each other gently, Kakashi's hand covering most of Naruto's. They fit perfectly into each other. It was like their hands were made for each other. They stayed like this until the end of the pyrotechnic show and even a bit longer after that. It was with obvious regret that they released each other's hand and stood up, feeling the loss of the warmth from the other's hand. Kakashi then walked the blond back to his apartment.

"You didn't have to walk me back home you know." Naruto told the older man with a shy smile, his stuffed fox under his arm.

"I was happy to do it." Kakashi replied, smiling softly at the blond.

"This date was wonderful. I really enjoyed it." The young man said, looking intensely at the jonin with a genuine smile on his lips.

"I'm pleased you liked it because I really enjoyed myself as well." The lanky man said, taking the younger man's hand in his own and squeezing it affectionately, the other squeezing it back in the same way, "I should go home. We have to wake up early tomorrow to begin your training."

"Yeah… I should probably go to sleep." The blond mumbled looking a bit disappointed that the night was coming to an end, "Well goodnight then."

"Goodnight." The silver haired man gently said, placing a kiss on top of the young man's forehead before turning around and walking away.

The date had gone wonderfully well. It had been so perfect, Naruto couldn't have dreamed of a better date. Being with the older man was finally a dream come true. He had been mad at the lanky man at first for telling him that he loved him when he had rejected his own confession almost 3 years ago. Hell of a nerve right? The young man should have had the honor to woo and bend the silver haired jonin to his will, to force him to admit his own feelings. But no, the man had to have a revelation and decided to pull the rug from under the blonde's feet and tell him how he felt. Of course Naruto was happy that Kakashi felt the same way as him but he really would have liked that there hadn't been all this melodrama beforehand. But the past was the past and now he was more than happy to focus on the fact that he now had the silver haired man's heart and vice versa. Now that they were together, he felt like nothing could separate them from each other anymore. It was the beginning of their story, and the unfolding of it completely depended of them. The young man couldn't wait to create memories with the older man. His head was floating on a happy cloud and he was feeling enthusiastic at the prospect of tomorrow's training with Kakashi. Naruto then went to bed and drifted off into a land where dreams of a certain silver haired man plagued his mind.

The next day, Naruto went to one of the farthest training grounds, one that was just near the forest that ran along the village's big wall, where Kakashi had told him to meet him there. The silver haired jonin was already waiting for him there.

"Good morning," the older man greeted him with a gentle smile, "I hope you've slept well."

"I did thanks." The blond replied, smiling back at the lanky man.

"Very good." The jonin said with an appreciative nod, his hands nonchalantly put in his pockets, "Ok, time to train."

"Hehehe." The young said in a small excited smile.

"What is it now?" Kakashi asked quirking an amused eyebrow in question.

"No, no, it's nothing… It's just that when I think about being able to train with you again…" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed manner, blushing slightly, "Don't know why. But I just get all excited and happy."

At this comment, the silver haired man gave a somewhat disturbing smile that freaked the young man a little. Man he hated when the jonin was pulling this kind of face!

"Well laugh it up while you can. Hahaha." The older man told him creepily, making the blond cringe and look at him warily, before he added in a calmer and more serious tone, "Time isn't waiting up for us after all."

After that, the jonin told the younger man in details in what would consist the training, explaining point by point the steps of the training. Though he knew that the physical examples would be more effective, Kakashi did try to explain it to the young man with words nonetheless. When he realized that it wasn't working much, the silver haired man finally showed the blond what he meant through a physical example. Then, before they began the training, Yamato joined them, as he was going to help them by canalizing Naruto's chakra while he trained. The great training of the blond then began.

_A few days later…_

"Yeaaah!" Naruto yelled triumphantly throwing his two pieces of leaves in the air.

It had now been two days since the training had started. The young man had begun wind style training and it was going pretty well.

"I did it!" the blond exclaimed excitedly, with a grin on his face, "I guess you'd have to say I'm pretty awesome after all, huh! At this rate I'll have a jutsu mastered in no time, huh!"

"Actually… It's the training method that let you be so quick…" Kakashi argued in a fake patronizing tone of voice, looking smug, "This is all thanks to my ingenious idea, you see…"

"Yeah whatever." the young man replied teasingly, wiping the sweat out of his forehead with the back of his sleeve before adding, "Let's just get on to…"

But before he could finish his sentence, he began to collapse. The silver haired jonin quickly moved in front of him so that he would land on him instead of the hard dirt ground. It was the second time it happened. Because of the bigger than usual amount of mental stress that this sort of training was making assimilate, the young man was left very weak for a few hours.

"…Well of course, it's because you are who you are that you can do all this." The lanky man muttered more to himself than anyone as he supported the weight of the passed out blond on his back, he then turned to his partner, "Yamato, this would be a good time for a rest."

A few hours later, Naruto began to slowly open his eyes.

"Looks like you're awake." the soft baritone voice of Kakashi said, making him sit up straight and look blearily in the jonin's direction.

"Again!… Don't tell me I…" the blond said, a frustrated frown on his face.

"Well, this training method will tend to wear you out…" the older man told the young man, "We'll move on with the training after resting a bit more and going to eat something."

"But, we don't have…" The young man tried to argue.

"No buts." The silver haired jonin replied sternly, accepting no arguments from the blond, he then turned to Yamato and asked him, "Are you coming with us?"

"I would love to but I'm going to pass and let you two go alone." The other jonin told them, a small knowing smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

"Your loss." The silver haired jonin said with a nonchalant shrug before beginning to leave with the blond, "See you later."

Both were oblivious to the look on the brown haired man's face. Whether they did it purposefully or that they just were too taken by each other was a mystery. But they both shrugged it off, as it was the man's decision. After all if he wasn't hungry, he wasn't hungry. They were both too happy to eat at the restaurant just the two of them.

"Where do you want to eat?" Kakashi asked the young man as they were walking in the streets.

"We could go to Ichiraku?" Naruto proposed, an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Sure why not." The lanky man replied, hiding a grimace at the idea of the heavy and greasy food after training, but wanting to please the blond by going to his favorite place.

They arrived at the restaurant and took a seat next to each other, as the owner, Teuchi, greeted them.

"Irashaimase!" the old man said in a loud welcoming voice before he recognized Naruto, his smile widening and becoming more genuine at the sight of the blond, "Oh Naruto! It's been a while!"

"Hey Naruto!" Ayame said with a smile before turning to Kakashi and greeting him with a polite bow.

"So, how is our favorite customer doing?" the ramen cook asked.

"I'm good. Right now I'm training to create a new jutsu!" the young man replied with a grin.

"Ah then you need all the nutrients and energy that you can get." Teuchi told him with a smile, "What do you want then?"

"I'd like tonkotsu ramen with an extra of roasted pork slices… please!" the blond ordered, adding the latter word as an afterthought, remembering how many times he had been hit on the head by Inari-neechan as well as Sakura-chan for not being polite enough.

"Coming right away! Do you want something Kakashi-san?" The old man asked, turning to the jonin.

"No thank you. I'm not really hungry." The silver haired man refused with a polite smile.

"Ah that's not good Kakashi-san! You should eat something to get some strength…" the young woman argued in a scolding manner, before adding while nodding in the direction of Naruto with a mocking blasé look, "Especially with this one…"

"Oi! What do you mean by this?" the blond protested loudly before calming almost instantly when he felt Kakashi's shoulder graze his gently, their fingers brushing and linking briefly together, giving a soft smile in the jonin's direction.

Teuchi and Ayame noticed this discreet affectionate exchange and smiled at each other, finding it adorable. Teuchi looked approvingly at the two while Ayame had a dreamy glint in her eyes, a red hue on her cheeks.

"Here you go Naruto." The old cook said as he put down in front of the blond his bowl of ramen.

Then Naruto began to eat his ramen with gusto, while Kakashi just watched him eat, not even bothered by the way the blond was slurping his ramen down, focusing more on the look of pure pleasure on the blonde's face as he ate his favorite food. When he was finally finished and it was time to pay, the silver haired man stopped him from taking out his wallet.

"I'll pay for it." The older man told him with a gentle smile.

"You don't have to!" the young man protested weakly, touched by the gesture of the lanky man.

"Don't worry about it." The silver haired jonin told him giving him a small wink.

Not able to contain herself anymore, Ayame let out a squeal.

"Kyaah! You are so cute together!" she exclaimed, watching them with big sparkling eyes.

The two men looked at her with blank faces, not knowing how to respond to that.

"Oh let me take a photo of you kissing please please pleeaaase!" she begged between squeals, jumping up and down excitedly, "It would go so well on our fan club's wall!"

They both began to blush heavily at that, as they hadn't even kissed yet. They were both too shy to do the first step. They'd rather wait for it to happen naturally than force anything. After a few squeals and fangirl moments from Ayame, the two men left to go back to the training ground where Yamato waited for them. They stayed in a companionable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. As they were walking side by side silently, the blond suddenly broke this silence with a question that had been plaguing his mind for some time.

"Do you think we'll be able to get back Sasuke one day?" Naruto asked him barely above a whisper, his eyes looking down at the ground with a wavering look, like he wasn't certain he could.

Stopping in his track, Kakashi looked at the young man without saying anything for a moment, studying him silently.

"I'm sure we will." The older man told him reassuringly, "You have the capacity to be as strong as him."

"You really think so?" the blond asked, with a doubtful look, as he stopped walking as well, looking intently the older man in the eyes.

"I am sure of it. I believe in you." The lanky jonin stated with conviction, tucking a wild blond bang behind the young man's ear, brushing his cheek softly in the process, "You have to have more faith in yourself."

"Thank you." Naruto said softly with a small smile, as he put his hand on the hand that rested on his cheek to keep it there.

"Come on. Let's go back to the training ground. Yamato must now be wondering what we are doing." Kakashi told him in a joking tone and a mischievous wink, making the blond smirk too.

They then began to walk again, their bodies a bit closer from each other as they seeped into them the calming presence of one another.

The next day, Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato were coming back from Ichiraku, as they had been taking a break in the training that was progressing really nicely. They met Asuma on their way back. The bearded man was walking leisurely in the street, as he was going to Shikamaru's house for a game of chougi. When he noticed the three men, he went to talk to them.

"Hey Naruto. How is the training going?" the smoking man asked the blond, as Naruto had previously asked him for tips for his training.

"Ossu Asuma-sensei!" the young man greeted, a hand patting his full stomach and a contented grin on his face at having eaten his fill, adding with a proud expression, "I'm now able to cut a waterfall in two!"

The dark haired man smiled at that before turning to Kakashi.

"It's been a while Kakashi." He told him with a nod as a greeting.

"It has." The silver haired jonin agreed before adding with a teasing smirk, "How is Kurenai doing?"

"Hum yeah… She is doing well." Asuma replied, making a small noise of embarrassment in the back of his throat, looking away.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked confused, not understanding why they were talking about Kurenai while Yamato smirked, as he knew what Kakashi meant.

"Nothing important. Don't worry about it." Kakashi told the young man, ruffling his soft blond hair affectionately.

Asuma smiled as he watched the two interact. The way the young man was smiling and looking with complete trust and affection at his friend who was looking at him the same way. The way they leant toward each other like magnets. Their whole body language was saying that they loved each other. It was a young love as they were just learning truly about each other right now but their feelings were gradually growing stronger. The dark haired man could see that and he couldn't be happier for the two of them. He knew how much Kakashi had hurt whenever he had been away from the village and away from Naruto.

"Well I have to go." The smoking man said, bidding them goodbye, "See you around!"

"Bye Asuma-sensei!" Naruto said with a grin, waving the man goodbye, while Kakashi Yamato contented themselves to nod.

A few days later, as they were working on the final stage of Naruto's training, Izumo came to tell them the dreadful news of Asuma's death. It came as a shock to the three of them and today's training was cancelled, as they were too grief-stricken to really do anything.

The next day, they went to the funeral. Kakashi was standing next to Naruto, who was consoling Konohamaru as best as he could, hugging the boy with one arm around his shoulders. The silver haired jonin couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain for Kurenai, whose beautiful face was stricken with tear tracks that showed how much she had cried. Right now, she wasn't crying. She was standing up straight, a dignified grace in her posture that grief had not taken away from her and had made her look maybe even more beautiful. Soon the funeral was over, and Naruto was walking slowly in the park near the riverside with Kakashi. The funeral had been concise but very emotional and the heavy mood was still hanging around them.

"How are you doing?" the blond asked after a moment of deafening silence, where he didn't know what to do.

Though he hadn't known Asuma-sensei for long, the young man had still felt sad at the announcement of his death. The death of someone was never a happy event. But he couldn't help but be worried about the silver haired man. After all he had been friend with the deceased man. He must feel affected that the Akatsuki had killed his friend, right? But the blond hadn't seen him cry once since he heard the news and was preoccupied by this.

"I am doing okay." the older man replied him with a surprised expression at first on his face before curiosity painted itself on his features as he asked, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, since you learned Asuma-sensei's death, I haven't seen you cry once." Naruto explained looking at him with a worried frown on his features, "Don't you feel sad?"

"Of course I am sad. He was my friend." Kakashi replied with a confused and slightly upset face, though his voice still sounded quite calm for now.

"Then why don't you cry? You look barely even upset by it!" the young man argued looking upset himself as he couldn't understand why the older man did not look sad or anything.

Though it was quite hard to see the emotions that the silver haired man had, the blond had always been able to make them out most of the time. It was as if he had a gift to distinguish the man's feelings. But right now, he had the hardest time guessing what the older man felt.

"Have you even cried before in your life?" the blond asked almost rhetorically, feeling more and more upset, without thinking about what he had just said.

"Yes I have. The day my best friend died in my arms." The older man replied, his face grave and his voice slightly tight and husky with emotion.

"Oh…" was the only thing Naruto was able to say, as he felt like a real jerk.

He didn't know much about Kakashi's life or what he had gone through. He felt really bad now at having reacted like that and talked without thinking. What an idiot! The blond looked down at the ground, unable to look at the man in front of him as guilt and shame for the words he said enveloped him.

"I also cried…" the silver haired jonin began to add in a softer voice, making the blond look up hesitantly at him, "…when I saw you and held you for the first time in my arms, and also…when the elders took you away from me."

At this, the young man looked at him with wide eyes, his blue orbs shining with emotion. A small smile appeared on his face, as he looked at the man, who was looking at him with soft loving eyes, something the young man didn't feel he deserved right now after his thoughtless words.

"I'm sorry. I know practically nothing of your past life and I shouldn't have said those things to you without thinking." The blond apologized shuffling his feet nervously, "But I was worried about you, and I couldn't understand why you looked so emotionless even though your friend just died…"

"I know. Don't worry about it." The lanky man told him, taking a step toward the blond, as he suddenly pulled him into his arms, hiding his head onto the young man's shoulder.

"Kakashi?.." Naruto said surprised as Kakashi held him close to him, his face buried in the junction of his neck and shoulder.

He was going to push him away to look at his face and see what was wrong when he felt something warm and wet touch his skin.

"Could you let me stay like that for a moment?" the jonin asked, his voice slightly muffled before adding after a moment of silence, "You know, except for my best friend, you are the first person I cry in front of."

The blond then brought his arms around the older man and held him as tightly as he could, telling him through it that everything would be all right. They stayed like that for some time before at one moment the young man didn't feel any tears anymore.

"I will have to leave the village for a while." The silver haired man suddenly said making the blond jerk backward in surprise and look at him with bewildered eyes.

"What… Why?" the young man exclaimed confused, a flash of fear passing in his eyes.

"Shikamaru, Shoji and Ino will want to avenge their sensei. It's only normal, but they will never get the approval of the Godaime. So I'm practically sure that they will leave very soon. Tomorrow at the latest." The jonin explained, putting his hand on the blonde's cheek and rubbing it with his thumb, tracing the whiskers like marks gently, "Don't worry it shouldn't be too long."

"But…that means that you are going up against the Akatsuki right? Those same ones who killed Asuma-sensei?" the blond said alarmed, grabbing the front of the man's clothes as if to stop him from going anywhere.

"Naruto, nothing will happen to me. Shikamaru as well as the others already know their abilities. Everything will be alright. I promise." Kakashi reassured him, taking his head in his two hands and putting his forehead against his.

"Liar." Naruto mumbled looking at the ground while pushing the man away from him and turned around, showing the older man his back to hide the fear he felt and which shone in his watery eyes, "You know as well as I do that we can't predict how things are going to go. You never know what might happen."

The jonin the pulled him against him, wounding up his arms around his chest and resting his chin on top his head while they both looked at the shining water of Konoha's river flow down lazily.

"Then I'll make a deal with you." The silver haired man said, while taking a whiff of the enchanting scent of the blonde's hair, "When you finally finish to perfect your new technique you can join us and help us against Akatsuki along with Yamato and the rest of team 7."

In fact the young man's training had been fruitful, as he had finally managed to create a new technique. The only problem was that it was quite recent and it still needed some improvement. But with the blonde's quick improving abilities, it wouldn't be long before he managed to master it.

"Humph! Okay," the blond agreed reluctantly before growling warningly, "but you better not do anything reckless before I arrive or I can assure you that those Akatsuki guys will look like picnic compared to what I'm going to do to you."

"I'll be careful, I promise." The jonin promised with a small, amused smile on his face.

The younger man then sighed, turning around to face at the lanky man and look him in the eyes.

"I'll pretend I believe you." He told him with a wry smirk.

"Please don't give me this face." The older man pleaded softly, cupping the blonde's face with his hand while caressing his cheek, "You look like you won't ever see me again."

"I can't help it." Naruto replied with a sigh, leaning into the man's touch while chewing his lower lip nervously, "Those Akatsuki guys make me feel nervous."

"I know. They make me nervous as well." Kakashi said, his hand sliding to massage gently the blonde's scalp, "But you have to believe in me and my abilities. I won't be taken down so easily."

"I know." The young man said with a small but genuine smile this time, his eyes closing slightly in bliss at the massage he was having from the silver haired jonin.

He then opened his eyes once again, looking straight at Kakashi. What he saw made his cheeks warm up. The older man was staring at him with an intense look, his eyes looking a bit darker than usual, a molten passion seeming to shine from them. Suddenly his throat and lips became dry. He swallowed and licked his dry lips nervously. Kakashi's eyes seemed to follow every move of his tongue as it ran across his lips. The blond began to feel a strange feeling going through his body. It was like he had butterflies in his stomach. He felt a bit queasy but it was like a good sort of nervousness. His whole body was tingling. He began to study the whole face of the man in front of him. His features were so sharp, yet there was a soft edge to them. His white alabaster skin looked so perfect. His visible eye looked even darker than normal. This eye that looked to be so distant most of the time now looked directly at him, full of burning desire and other indescribable emotions. With his wild spiky hair slightly falling on the side of his face, he looked really handsome. Then Naruto's eyes trailed down to the man's covered jaw and lips. Though he felt a bit disappointed at not being able to see what the man's lips looked like, the young man felt a pull toward them, the need to kiss those covered lips becoming more and more overbearing. He felt himself lean forward, the jonin doing the same. Anticipation and excitement was boiling inside the blond man, his heart beating madly feeling like it was ready to explode. As their lips were finally going to meet each other, a loud voice made them both quickly jerk away from each other with a startled jump.

"Hello my dear rival!" Guy exclaimed in his usual loud manner, though his face had a cheerfulness that looked a bit forced he still looked quite energetic, "In this time of sorrow we have to train our bodies and minds until exhaustion makes us fall on our knees!"

"I'll let you two alone to your duel or whatever." The young man mumbled quickly, his face all red, before leaving.

"Huh? What's up with him? That's a shame he could have been our referee." The Green beast of Konoha said with a childish disappointed pout that only he must found irresistible, as he looked at the blond leaving hurriedly.

"Guy…" a dangerous voice growled behind the man.

As he turned around, Guy found himself face to face with an extremely pissed off Kakashi. Swallowing heavily the lump in his throat, the green wearing man realized he was in real trouble. Remembering the glorious beat down he had received the last time he had dared interrupt Kakashi when he was with Naruto, the jonin began to take a step back in worry. Last time had been because the man had been about to confess his feelings to the young man. But now, if what he had heard was correct, they were now together. So what could he have possibly…ooh boy!... The taijutsu specialist suddenly paled as he realized what he might have had interrupted. Without further ado, he took off in a sprint, using all his speed to get away from the jonin in the hope to not get caught.

"Kakashi, I'm so sorryyy!" the poor man yelled to the silver haired jonin who was certainly not far behind him, as he ran for his life.

The next day, while Kakashi had already left with Shikamaru and the others early in the morning, people could see a beaten down Guy, hanging upside down by his feet from a tree, his unconscious face contorted in an expression of pure horror with his eyes rolled over in their sockets. On his chest, was painted with bright red paint one simple word: "Aho".

_TBC_

**I know you might hate me right now… =P They were this close to kiss and yet!… Guy had to ruin everything…again. Lol But you have to see the good side of it: their relationship is now out in the open. Isn't that good?**

**I kinda feel sorry for Guy because he always ends up getting beaten up by Kakashi. But then again, if someone was interrupting a private moment between me and the person I love, I would most likely tear them apart… lol =P**

**I hope you liked it. I hope it wasn't too melodramatic…or too blend for that matter... But fear not! I will try to make the future chapters livelier! I have some ideas already. I just need to organize them in my mind so that it becomes coherent. But for that I'll have to wait next weekend for the end of my exams so that I can think clearly and focus on this story.  
**

**Anyway let me know what you thought of it. I know I already said it but I always love to read your reviews. :)**

**See ya!**

**PS: I have done some small changes in my two previous chapters if you are interested... It's not much but I'm mostly just adding or changing things as ideas kick into my head. **

**Also, as things are beginning to evolve into a more physical way between our two dears, I would like to get your opinion on something. Since the beginning things have been pretty cute and innocent in this story. So I was wondering if there should be a 'visual' lemon or not… I might make a poll for you to vote but you can always tell me by review what your opinion on the matter is. ;)**


	18. A really special date

**Hey everyone! Here is another chapter I hope you'll like it. FWI I've put up a poll to see if you guys would like a visual lemon or not. I know it might be bothersome for you but I really would like to know what you think. Even if I do a lemon I think it will be a special chapter dedicated to it so that people who don't want one won't have to 'read it'. Anyway there is still some time before anything of the sort happens. So I'll let you enjoy what I think is a chapter you must have waited for some time now. ;)**

The fight against those Akatsuki members had been a real hardship. Even though Shikamaru had managed to put his plan into motion as well as isolating the one called Hidan. But even with all these measures, Kakashi, Ino and Choji had been struggling with the other one called Kakuzu. If Naruto and the others hadn't come, the jonin would have had been forced to use his Mangekyou sharingan. The silver haired man had been rather impressed by the evolution of the young man. Something had changed in him and it was visible in his eyes as well as in his posture. He didn't know what they had done with Yamato but it was quite amazing how much the blond had seemed to mature in just a few days time. Whether it was in his posture or in his general features, the blond had looked much more confident in himself and he had this calm demeanor about him that was quite unusual for him. He looked fascinating to the older man. He couldn't keep his eyes off of him.

Moreover, his jutsu had become something unbelievable. Even with his sharingan he hadn't managed to see all of it. It had such a destructive power. Kakashi had never seen such a technique. However, it had taken its toll on the young man's body and had rendered him unable to move much as he didn't any energy left. In consequence, Ino and Choji had had to support Naruto to walk while going back to the village with Yamato while Kakashi cleaned up after them by finishing Kakuzu up.

When they were back to Konoha, Naruto had had his arm, which he had used for his new technique, put into a cast. As for Kakashi and Yamato, they had been called by Tsunade to get the results of Kakuzu's autopsy. The female hokage told them that Naruto should never use ever again this new technique if he didn't want to stop being a ninja. This new technique was not only cutting the chakra channels of the person on whom the jutsu was casted but also on the caster. This served to really worry Kakashi, as he knew that after finally creating a jutsu that surpassed him and even the Yondaime, the young man would already have to give it up. Wanting to know how the young man was doing, the silver haired man went to the place where he was sure to find the blond after a mission, especially a grueling one like this. He arrived at Ichiraku to find a quite comic scene. Apparently Sai had decided that as a friend he should be helping the blond to eat, since it was really hard for him to eat with his left hand. But the young man didn't see it like that and was struggling to keep him away from him while yelling at the dark haired young man.

"Mmm? It's noisy over here." The jonin said, getting the attention of everyone.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed with a relieved expression on her face, silently pleading for him to deal with them.

"Alright Sai I'll take it from here." The silver haired man told the root ninja with a smile and a wink, before taking the seat that the young man had just left to let him sit next to Naruto.

He then took the ramen bowl along with the chopsticks and turned to Naruto.

"Say aaahh." He said in a singsong voice, loving the expression of pure horror on Naruto's face as well as embarrassment at being fed like some kind of infant.

'It reminds me of when he was much younger and I had to feed him.' The jonin thought with a small smile, 'Feels kind of nostalgic.'

The face Naruto was quite priceless and Kakashi couldn't help but have fun with the situation. The blonde's face was getting more and more mortified by the second as he was resigning himself to his fate.

"You're not in a hospital bed this time. That's unusual…Kakashi-sensei." Sakura commented in a teasing tone, while Kakashi was giving that last bites of ramen to Naruto.

"Right now… That's how you all see me…I'm shocked…" the silver haired man replied in a fake hurt voice, before explaining, "Well…This time I didn't have to use the Mangekyo sharingan."

"If you guys hadn't shown up that time," The jonin added in a tone that meant to be light and joking, "I would have had to use it, and then I'd be in that hospital bed right now, like you're expecting. Hahaha."

But at seeing Naruto's grave face, the silver haired man sobered up and turned fully toward him.

"Naruto, you really have become strong." He told the young man, "Enough to stand side-by-side with me, or even surpassing me… But remember… The greater the jutsu, the greater the risk for the user."

"Yeah…" Naruto replied in a mumble, looking down at the restaurant's counter.

They finished eating, and then each of them left for their own place. Tsunade had given them a few days off after everything that had happened those last few weeks, something they were all grateful for, as they were exhausted both physically and mentally.

When Kakashi arrived at his flat, he laid down on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as thoughts swirled inside his head in a tumult. There was worry for Naruto concerning the Akatsuki, as well as doubts about the possibility to get Sasuke back to the village. But the main thought, that was actually overpowering all the other jonin's thoughts, was the fact that it was soon going to be Naruto's birthday.

For the occasion, Kakashi had decided to prepare a very special surprise for the blond. Starting tomorrow, he had decided that he would take advantage of the blond recovering to begin renovating their former home, the one they lived in during the first year of the young man's life. Though their relationship had not yet evolved to a physical level, the silver haired man wanted to make some sort of bond with the blond. This cottage that they had shared for a brief but wonderful time represented a new start that they could have. It could be the promise for them to live together happily. It would sort of be their haven, away from the rest of the village where nobody would bother them. The jonin was very thankful that the Sandaime had insisted for him to keep the little house.

Though at first it had been really painful for him to keep anything that would remind him of his time with Naruto, along the years he had learned to not care about it and he was now really glad to have it to be able to show it to Naruto and share with him a bit of the young man's childhood not only by words. And so for the next two weeks, Kakashi spent most of his time at the little house, repairing what needed to be repaired, painting the walls to replace the worn out and peeling paint, cleaning the place off, as well as weeding and taking care of the garden in general. In the end the little house looked quite decent and lovely once again from the exterior. The jonin was rather proud of his work and decided to go see Naruto, as today was normally the day he would get his cast off. Moreover, the young man's birthday was in two days and he wanted to ask him on a date to show him his surprise tomorrow as he knew that a birthday party had been organized by the blonde's friends for him. He was glad the young man had made friends and he was also quite proud about who the blonde's friends were. They all seemed very loyal and reliable. He could never have dreamed of better friends for the young man. He hoped the blond would have a great birthday and was glad to spend the day before with him. It would be sort of a pre-birthday celebration.

As he was walking toward the Naruto's flat, he met said blond on the way. Apparently, considering he didn't have his arm in a cast anymore, the young man was coming back from the hospital.

"Hey Naruto." The silver haired man greeted with his trademark wave of his hand, "How are you doing? I see you are finally rid of your cast."

"Yeah I'm finally free!" the blond replied with a smile before looking a bit sullen at the older man, "I haven't seen you for a while. You seemed pretty busy for the last few days. What were you doing during those last two weeks?"

"I know. Sorry, I was working on a project of mine." The lanky jonin said apologetically, "Why don't we spend the day together tomorrow? I would like to show you what I've been doing during the last two weeks."

"Really? Yeah that would be nice." Naruto told him excitedly before adding with a slightly bittersweet voice, still sounding a bit resenting to not have seen the older man for some time, "I'd love to see what has occupied your time that much."

"Do you want to go grab a bite with me?" Kakashi proposed, a small feeling of guilt churning in the pit of his stomach at the sullen pout on the blonde's face, "I would like to spend some time with you if you don't have anything planned."

"Sure. I'm kind of hungry too." The young man replied with a shrug, the corners of his lips turning up.

"Where do you want to go?" the older man asked.

"Ichiraku!" the blond said loudly with a grin.

"Should've figured." The silver haired man said amusedly, which made the younger man let out a carefree laugh before they began walking toward the ramen shop.

The next day, Kakashi was standing in front of the playground of the village's park, waiting for Naruto. He had chosen this meeting spot because it wasn't really far from where the cottage was. Not long after he arrived himself, the young man joined him. For once he was not wearing his usual orange and black jumpsuit but a plain white T-shirt with jeans. The silver haired man himself had done quite an effort and had dressed in a grey T-shirt with a darker vest on top, his navy blue mask of course hiding the lower part of his face. He didn't have his hitai ate on for once and so his sharingan eye was closed.

"Ready?" the jonin asked though he felt stupid afterward for asking this question, as it didn't serve any real purpose.

"Ossu!" the blond replied nonetheless with a grin, and trepidation lacing his voice.

They then walked toward where the cottage was. As they walked the small path that led to the slightly secluded cottage, Kakashi began to feel a bit nervous at the idea of finally showing the house to Naruto. It was after all a mutual part of their past. Though Naruto was too small to remember it correctly, it was still a place that held some strong memories. So many emotions were going to resurface. He had almost no doubt that the blond would like this surprise but he still couldn't help but feel some nervousness seep into him. Finally, the cottage appeared into view.

Kakashi had repainted it into a warm yellow, ochre color, matching perfectly the exposed stones of the wall. With time, the plants had covered some parts of the cottage, which the silver man had let like that finding that it gave a nice rustic aspect to it. Beside him, he heard the young man give a small gasp at the sight in front of them.

"Wow…" he whispered, as he gawked at the cottage, "It's beautiful. Whose house is it?"

"Ours." The jonin replied before explaining further at the look of utter confusion on the blonde's face, "Well it actually was our house when I was the one raising you."

"Really?" the young man asked flabbergasted, eyes and mouth open wide, "And who does it belong to now?"

"Technically to me." The silver haired man said, "Sandaime had me keep it."

" 'Just in case' were his words." He added with a smile as he too looked at the little house.

"Well the old geezer did well. I can't believe I lived in such a place with you. It's so pretty." Naruto replied in awe.

"I did some renovations on it." Kakashi commented.

"So that's what you did for those past two weeks… You did a good job." The blond told him, his eyes still fixed on the place.

"I have only done the exterior yet. I still have the inside to do. But I'm quite excited to be able to do it up. I want to make this place look nice to live in. Which brings me to why I did this…" the silver haired man began to say, turning to the young man next to him, looking at him with a solemn gaze though slightly nervous gaze as he continued, "I have been thinking a lot about our relationship and even though it only has been a month or two since we started dating and it might be premature, I would like, in some near future, for us to live together. I know you don't wear any jewel and so I thought that this house could be the symbol of the promise that we will one day live inside it."

"So what do you think? When the renovations are done, would you like to live with me in this house eventually?" he finished by asking Naruto, squirming slightly in nervousness as he waited for the answer.

"I would love that." Naruto answered in a voice full of emotions and a bright smile on his lips, his eyes brimming with tears of happiness as he pounced on the man, wrapping his arms around Kakashi's neck and burying his face in his neck.

The older man pulled him tighter against him and buried his nose in the soft blond hair, humming the delicate scent that only belonged to the young man.

"Thank you Kakashi." The blond mumbled against the neck of the jonin, his breath tickling the skin of his neck, making the man have goose bumps, "You don't know how much what all of this means to me."

"You're welcome." The silver haired man told him softly, rubbing his back soothingly.

They stayed like this for a moment, where the two of them were quiet and just enjoyed the appeasing presence of the other, soaking in the warmth of one another. Then, Naruto slowly lifted his head up, untangling his arms from the mans neck and taking a few steps back, and he looked at Kakashi in the eyes, his eyes still moist and beaming with joy. But they were now also shining with something hard to describe. It seemed like there was some hesitation but also something like awe. Then his eyes seemed to travel down to the covered lips of the jonin, his head leaning slightly as if he was pulled forward. Kakashi, also feeling the pull, pulled slowly his mask down, revealing the lower part of his face, the need to kiss the young man becoming more and more unbearable and making his whole body tingle in anticipation. The young man let out an audible gasp as the silver haired man's face was uncovered, seeing it bare for the first time. Naruto couldn't help but stare at his face, finding it so beautiful. In the back of his mind, he thought that he was actually glad the man wore a mask. It felt so intimate to see the silver haired man's face. He wouldn't anyone else to see it.

He leaned over, gently pressing his lips against Kakashi's ones. Liking the feeling of those soft but firm lips pressed against his, Naruto pressed himself further against the older man's body, wrapping once again his arms around the jonin's neck and threading his fingers in the soft mane of grey white hair. Wanting more but not knowing how to show it, the young man was grateful when Kakashi took the lead and ran his tongue on his lower lip to ask for entrance into his mouth. Eagerly he allowed entrance by slowly opening his mouth, letting the silver haired man slip his tongue into his mouth. As soon as their tongue met, a spark coursed through Naruto's body and he felt heat pool into him and more specifically in his abdomen, only from the wonderful feeling of finally kissing the man he had loved for years now. His heart was beating madly, and blood was pumping into his body like he was running a marathon. It felt so good to finally kiss Kakashi, to be in the man's arms and feel like there was nothing else on the planet than the two of them.

Though they both wished the kiss would have last longer, they soon had to part for some much needed oxygen. As they were catching their breath, their forehead touching and their nose brushing against one another, their eyes were still closed as they just enjoyed the moment. After a moment, they looked once again at each other, love shining in both of their eyes. Tenderly, Kakashi caressed the blonde's cheek, his eyes still fixed on the younger man's face. As for Naruto, he was looking in fascination at the other man's face.

"I love you." The silver haired man whispered affectionately, pulling the blond out of his trance, before kissing his forehead.

The young man smiled brightly at these words, and leaned into the man's touch.

"I can't wait to live with you." The blond told him with a happy sigh.

"Me too. But before we do, I have to finish renovating the cottage." The lanky man said, adding with a longing hint in his voice, "I don't know how long it will take me to make it livable again. But it shouldn't take me more than a year."

"Why don't I help you? Like that it will take less time to finish." Naruto proposed.

"No I don't want you to. This was a surprise for your birthday, you shouldn't work on it." Kakashi told him.

"What if I want to?" the blond replied with a stubborn pout that had the jonin melt as he couldn't help but think that this pout was cute on him, "I would love to do this with you. It would be a common effort, something we do and share together."

"I guess it would be quicker with the two of us." The silver haired man agreed a bit reluctantly before smiling at the victory grin adorning the younger man's face, "Like that we will get to spend more time together."

The young man responded by grinning silently at the man with an even wider smile. The lanky jonin then leaned in and kissed the other on the mouth, kissing him languidly while he held the back of the blonde's head to pull him closer, as Naruto was more than happy to respond to it.

When they finished kissing, Kakashi was about to pull his mask up to cover once again his face when Naruto stopped him from doing so by grabbing his hand.

"Don't." the blond said softly, his eyes pleading silently, "Please I want to see your face for a bit longer. There's nobody around so you don't risk anything."

"Alright." The silver haired man said with a gentle smile, pulling back down his mask.

"Thank you." The young man said.

"I have also taken care of the garden. You want to take a closer look at the house and see what I have planned to do in it?" the older man then proposed.

"Sure!" the smiling blond replied eagerly, "Let's go."

Kakashi then led Naruto toward the garden, in the backyard of the cottage, where they talked, shared their ideas as well as thoughts, and began making plans of what they would do in the little house.

The next day, Kakashi was in his kitchen cooking when someone knocked at his door. Behind the door there were Sakura as well as Sai and Hinata.

"Good morning Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said to the silver haired man.

"Good morning Sakura, Sai, Hinata. Come in." The jonin greeted the three of them as the other two saluted him as well.

"Where do you want us to put all this?" the pink haired kunoichi asked, showing the item in question by shaking it.

The three young people were all carrying heavy looking bags filled with banners, hats, cotillions, and other type of decorations. A few weeks ago, Sakura had come to see the older man and had asked him if he would agree to host Naruto's birthday party in his apartment. Just a few days before, Kakashi had bought a brand new flat, much more spacious and modern than his previous apartment. He had bought it after having thought a lot about it. He had had put so much money aside, and since he had never really needed much in his life, he decided that he would get a bigger flat with in mind that this place wasn't enough anymore for him and his ninken. But he was also hoping to invite Naruto in it, thinking that it could be considered by the blond for the time being as a second home where they could spend time together. And so this was how Sakura, who had learned about her sensei getting a new apartment, had immediately asked him to lend it for the occasion. The jonin couldn't have been happier. He was going to be able to have the young man inside his flat and celebrate his birthday. All of the blonde's friends were going to come and though they still were discreet about their relationship, the silver haired man couldn't wait to be by the young man's side.

"Thank you for lending us your flat Kakashi-sensei." Hinata said with a genuine smile, bowing politely, pulling the man out of his daydream, "It's really nice of you. I'm sure Naruto-kun will appreciate that his sensei has helped into making him a birthday party."

"It's nothing really." He answered, returning her smile warmly, "After all it is not everyday you turn 16 years old."

In the shinobi world, 16 years old was a critical turn as you were considered an adult and yet for the outside world, you were not one yet. It had always been quite a controversial subject as the two worlds had a hard time understanding each other. But, for the shinobis, who knew what each of them lived through, it was only normal to celebrate what they considered to be the passage to adulthood.

They began preparing everything, putting the decorations on, making some snacks, as well as doing a selection of music. They made sure that everything was ready for the party to be a success. Soon people began arriving. Shikamaru and Choji were the ones in charge of bringing Naruto here, as he didn't know where the party was held and strangely nobody had wanted to tell him. But the blond hadn't cared, he was just really touched that his friends had thought about his birthday, though he would have liked to celebrate it with Kakashi too. When the young man finally arrived at the flat, everyone was here to welcome him.

"Happy Birthday Naruto!" they all wished him loudly.

Everybody was here. There was Inari, Iyashi Iruka, Tsunade, Yamato Neji, Kiba, Shino, Ino and of course all those who had contributed to the preparation of the party.

"Wow thanks everyone." The blond said with a huge happy grin.

"How does it feel to be 16 now?" Iruka asked him, patting him on the back.

"Nothing particular." Naruto replied with a shrug, "I don't feel any different."

"That's true. You don't look any smarter." Tsunade commented in a snicker, sounding already drunk.

"Well you don't look any younger either babaa." The blond said back at her.

"Tch! Impertinent brat!" the female hokage grunted before turning around to walk to the table where the drinks were, accompanied by Iruka who apparently had been given the extraneous mission to watch over the drunk hokage as Shizune was sick.

"We'll talk some more later Naruto." The brown haired chunin told him with an apologetic smile before hurrying after Tsunade.

"Sure. No problem Iruka-sensei." The blond replied.

"Hey chibi blond devil!" Inari exclaimed as she approached the birthday boy with Iyashi right next to her, "How are you doing?"

"I'm good Inari-neechan. Didn't you come with Genma?" he asked with a teasing smirk, "I thought you two were inseparable."

At this the nurse's face became red and she began sputtering.

"It's been a while Naruto." Iyashi intervened by saying, an amused smile at his sister's expression.

"Iyashi-niisan! How are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm good thank you. You know I can't believe you are already 16." The man said with a nostalgic sigh, "To me it feels like it was just yesterday that you were crawling around on all fours."

"Yeah! You were such a drooling machine." The nurse added in a giggle, having pleasure in teasing the young man who was now blushing in embarrassment.

This is how Naruto began talking with every guest, chatting and joking with them. Kakashi was standing in a corner of the room, watching the blond having fun and laughing, with a smile on his face that was hidden by his mask. After a while, his eyes met the blue ones of the blond, who then walked up to him with a smile on his face.

"Hey." The blond said softly, his eyes locked into the other man's eyes.

"Hey." He replied back in the same tone of voice, "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks. I'm glad you are here. I didn't know you would come." Naruto told him leaning up against the wall next to the jonin, their shoulders brushing each other, before he added in a joking tone, "I don't even know where I am right now. Do you know whose place it is?"

"Actually it's mine. I have moved here just a few days ago." Kakashi explained before adding sheepishly, "My previous flat was too small when I had my ninkens over."

"Really? Awesome…" the young man exclaimed looking around in astonishment, "This place is huge."

The jonin guessed it was, compared to the usual single bedroom apartments that shinobis usually had. This one had a really big living room with a corner for the kitchen, delimited by a counter where you could cook on. There were stairs that led to the bathroom and three bedrooms. The silver haired man was actually thinking of turning one of those bedrooms into a training room.

"If you want we could spend the day tomorrow together here. We could watch a movie and have dinner." The older man proposed, turning his head to look at the young man next to him.

"Yeah that would be nice." The blond said smiling up at him, "I would like that."

"Naruto! Stop bothering Kakashi-sensei! Can't you stop talking about training during your birthday?" Sakura told the blond exasperated as she interrupted the two, having no real idea about what they were talking but assuming that the subject would be ninjutsu.

"Actually," the jonin began not wanting the pink haired kunoichi to begin to get on Naruto's case, but also wanting to be alone with the blond for a moment, "I need to show Naruto something."

"Oh ok then." The young woman said, walking away to go talk with Hinata and Kiba.

The silver haired man then took the young man up the stairs and in a corridor that led to the bedrooms.

"So what did you want to humph..." Naruto began to say before a pair of lips sealed his in a searing kiss, and a body pressed against his and pushed him against a wall.

Kakashi put his left hand against the wall, right next to the blonde's head, while his other hand had its fingers carded into the young man's hair. Naruto's eyes fluttered close as he let himself be swept by the kiss and moved his lips in sync with the older man's. His hand gripped the bicep of the man's arm, clinging to him as he felt his legs go weak under him. Their tongues played and caressed each other in a sensual dance, parting from time to time to breathe before diving back into their kiss.

"Was that my birthday present?" the blond asked jokingly, though slightly out of breath, his eyes lit with passion, shining like molten lava.

"You could say that." The jonin replied with an amused smirk, mischief playing in his eyes as he circled the blonde's waist to pull him closer to him, nuzzling his neck with his nose and inhaling deeply his scent, "I guess I needed to be alone with you for a few seconds."

"So that you could molest me?" the young man teased with a smirk as he watched the slightly surprised but also sheepish expression on the man's face.

"Holding you close would be more appropriate." The silver haired man replied roguishly before turning his head where all the guests were, "We should go back to everyone. We wouldn't want them to think that something has happened to us."

With an amused smile on his face, Naruto followed Kakashi as the two of them walked back to the crowd, looking a bit dishevelled like they had just snogged each other thoroughly, making almost everybody snicker at the sight.

The party went on until late in the evening before every body decided to go back home. It had been a real success and everyone had enjoyed themselves. As Naruto was walking back home, he thought about the party he had today. It had been a real surprise when he had heard that his friends had prepared a party for his birthday. This had really touched him. He had been even happier when he had seen that Kakashi was there too. It was a shame that he had discovered the man's place in these circumstances. Because he had been busy talking with everyone, he hadn't had the time to look at the place. But he had been rather surprised when he had learned that it was Kakashi's flat. He would've wished to be able to discover it with the silver haired man only. But he guessed it was okay as he was going to come back over there tomorrow to spend the day with him.

Finally he was back to his apartment, where he flopped face first on his bed, exhaustion but also a content feeling washing over him at the wonderful day he had had. But as he was slipping into unconsciousness, his mind was happed into the seal where Kyubi was imprisoned. He found himself in front of the cage where was sealed the beast.

"_Hello gaki."_ The monster kitsune said in its deep growling voice.

"_What do you want Kyubi? What am I doing here?"_ Naruto demanded in a wary glare.

"_I need to talk to you about your relationship with this jonin of yours."_ The demon told him, _"You need to…"_

"_My relationship with Kakashi is none of your business!"_ the blond replied in a threatening voice, interrupting the Nine-Tails, "You have no say in the matter."

"_Be careful gaki! You are too impertinent!" _Kyubi growled dangerously at him before adding with a cunning smirk, malice in his voice, _"But since you don't want to hear me out I'll let you do as you please. Just remember this, if you are not careful you will end up in a really dangerous predicament, which can have heavy repercussions on the whole shinobi world."_

With that said, Naruto was roughly pushed out of the demon seal's realm, leaving the young man confused and quite shaken up by Kyubi's words. What did the monster fox mean by that? Was it just trying to play with his mind? That wouldn't be the first time the demon would try disturb him like this. But then, why did he feel so uneasy about all this? His thoughts swirling in all directions in his mind, the bond tossed and turned all night without getting some real rest.

The next day, the young man left his apartment with bags under the eyes, looking exhausted. Kyubi's words were still plaguing his mind, as he walked in the street, a feeling of uneasiness clinging to him like the plague. When he arrived at Kakashi's place, the silver haired man opened the door smiling at him before his face fell as he looked at him with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey Naruto. Are you okay?" the lanky man asked with a concerned frown as he let the blond in.

"It's nothing. I just had a nightmare that kept me awake all night." Naruto mumbled in a weary voice, surprising the older man by walking up to him and burying his face into the man's strong chest and letting out a satisfied sigh, "But now that I'm with you I'm good."

"Come on let's go sit down and have some tea." Kakashi told him softly, leading him to the couch.

Two months passed by, and Naruto had soon forgotten all about the warning of Kyubi. Christmas was just a few days away, and right now he and Kakashi were hanging with each other at the older man's flat, putting up decorations to prepare having their first Christmas together. The blond was decorating the Christmas tree while the silver haired man was putting up decorations on the wall. When they were done, they sat down comfortably next to each other with a mug of cocoa, just enjoying the peace and quiet. Right now, Naruto was snuggled up against the jonin's side, looking at the window.

"Do you think it will snow?" the young man asked as he sipped on his sweet hot drink.

"I don't know." The silver haired man said as he played with the other man's hair.

"I hope so." The blond said with a wishful tone, snuggling further into the older man and closing his eyes in contentment, "I'd love to have a white Christmas."

'_Aw what a disgusting scene!'_ Kyubi sneered into the young man's mind, making the blond jump slightly in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, having felt the sudden movement of Naruto.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." The blond told him absentmindedly giving a reassuring smile to the man before concentrating on his mind and the Kyubi.

'_What do you want?'_ he demanded to the Nine-Tails irritated.

Since this night where he had a conversation with the monster kitsune, Naruto discovered that he was able to have conversations inside his mind with the demon. He wasn't fully used to it yet, but from time to time they would speak.

'_What? You have to admit that you are looking really corny by saying this.'_ the demon commented with a snigger.

'_Oh beat it! I am not corny! It's just you who are a cruel, insensitive beast.'_ the young man replied with a petulant look.

'_Yeah yeah whatever gaki.'_ Kyubi said smirking inside the blonde's mind, _'Well in your defense, this man is as cheesy as you. I guess birds of a feather do flock together.'_

'_Hey could you go away so that I can enjoy my time with Kakashi? I would like to make the most of it.'_ Naruto told him, turning mentally away from him.

'_Okay. Have fun.'_ The Nine-Tails replied sneering before leaving the young man's mind.

"What are you thinking about?" the soft baritone voice of the silver haired man pulled him back into reality.

"Just that I'm really happy to be here right now." The blond told him, nuzzling his head in the crook of the older man's neck, a purr rumbling in the back of his chest.

Suddenly someone knocked at the door. Curious about whom it could be, Kakashi stood up from the couch, earning a whine from the young man making him smile amusedly. He went to open the door and discovered Jiraiya on the other side.

"Long time no see Kakashi." The toad sennin said, "I believe Naruto is here. Could I see him? I need to speak with him."

"Sure. Come in." the jonin replied, opening the door wider to let the Sannin pass.

"Thanks." The white haired man said as he looked, "That's a nice place you have here."

"Ah! Ero-sennin! What are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed as he saw his shisho.

"Yo Naruto! How are you doing? I see why you like this place, though I guess I don't have all the motivation you have." Jiraiya told him with a teasing smirk, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, which made the blonde's cheeks heat up, before he sat in the armchair in front of Naruto, "I've come here because I need to talk to you."

"I'll let you two talk. I need to write in some reports anyway." The silver haired man said, starting to walk away from the two.

"Stay Kakashi, it concerns you as well in a way." The Sannin told the lanky jonin his face becoming more serious.

Puzzled, Kakashi went to sit next to Naruto who too looked like he was wondering what the man wanted to talk about to the two of them together.

"I am here to talk about the Kyubi." The toad sennin said, making both men in front of him tense visibly, "Naruto, you need to find another source of power so that you don't have to rely on the Nine-Tails' powers anymore."

"Easy to say." The blond mumbled sullen, "This damn fox doesn't hesitate to take advantage of any moments of weakness."

"Well this is why I'm proposing you a special type of training." The white haired man told him, "But first, let me present you someone."

After saying this, Jiraiya did a series of seals before slamming his hand on the ground, summoning something or someone in a puff of smoke. When the smoke finally dissipated, there stood a green toad with white hair styled in somewhat of a mohawk, very thick eyebrows and a small goatee, wearing a simple cape on.

"Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Fukasaku-sama." Jiraiya said before turning to the toad named Fukasaku, "Fukasaku-sama, this is my pupil Naruto Uzumaki and his sensei Kakashi Hatake."

"Nice to meet you." The toad said with a polite nod that the other two returned, before turning to the toad sennin with an inquisitive look, "So this is the young man that you want to bring to Mount Myoboku?"

"Huh? Mount what?" Naruto asked confused.

"Yes. He needs to learn senjutsu so that he can become stronger and resist to the Kyubi." The Sannin told him, pretending to not have heard the blond.

"Kyubi huh?..." the Great Toad Sage whispered with a frown.

"Excuse me but could you tell me what you are talking about? I'm kind of concerned no?" the young man said irritated.

"I'm planning on taking you with me to Mount Myoboku, the land of toads, where you will learn senjutsu." Jiraiya said.

"Senjutsu? What is it?" the blond asked, cocking his head in curiosity.

"It's a specialized field of techniques which allows the user to sense and gather the natural energy around them." The toad sennin explained, "To resume, if you succeed in mastering it, you will be become a toad sennin just like me."

"So you have already mastered this technique Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Ero-sennin?" Fukasaku asked with a chuckle, "That's quite befitting Jiraiya-chan."

"Jiraiya-chan?" the blond asked in a snicker, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as he was trying to hide in his laughter.

"Hum well hum…let's not dwell on details and go to the essential." The perverted man said, clearing his throat uncomfortably, "Naruto, this is the best way to get stronger. Frankly this is in fact the only idea I have for you to get stronger…"

"Sorry Jiraiya-chan but if I remember correctly I was the one to propose it to you when you came to ask us for guidance as to what you could do to make him become stronger." The Great Toad Sage cut in.

"Right…" the toad sennin said, clearing once again his throat in embarrassment before turning to the blond, "So Naruto, do you want to go to Mount Myoboku to train to master senjutsu?"

"I don't know… It's quite a decision to make." Naruto replied hesitantly, glancing sideways at Kakashi, "How long would it take?"

"It all depends of you. I wouldn't be able to tell you how long it could take you to achieve it." The Sannin told him.

"You should go." Kakashi intervened, making the young man turning to look fully at him, taking his hand in his own, "It will be very good for you."

"But…" the blond tried to argue but got interrupted by the silver haired man.

"Don't worry. Take all the time you need. I am going nowhere." The jonin told him squeezing the blonde's hand reassuringly, massaging the back of his hand with his thumb, "We'll have other occasions to spend Christmas together."

Naruto stared at him into the very depth of his eyes, looking like he was thinking intently about what to do. Then resignation shone inside his eyes and appeared on his face.

"Alright. I'll do it." He accepted with a pout, "When do we leave?"

A few hours later, Naruto along with Kakashi as well as Jiraiya and Fukasaku were standing next to each other in front of the main gate.

"I still don't understand why we have to leave right away." The blond grumbled, readjusting his backpack.

"Because Fukasaku-sama won't wait for you to be ready to leave or he will still be here next year!" Jiraiya replied loudly in annoyance, "Moreover, the quicker we leave the quicker you will be able to come back."

"Hmph! Whatever." the young man said petulantly.

Then the blond turned to look at Kakashi with a small smile.

"Well then I guess this is goodbye." The blond said, kicking his foot in the dirt, before giving him a wide smile as he told him with a teasing glint in his eyes, "Don't miss me too much."

Without warning, Kakashi pulled Naruto into his arms and held him tightly against him, threading his fingers into the soft blond hair. The blond happily hugged the man back, fisting the back of the jonin's vest. Grabbing the young man's chin, the silver haired man lifted it up, making him look at him and pressed his lips gently to his. Though the blond would have wished to deepen the kiss, the jonin pulled back before it could happen, cutting it short and making the young man whine slightly.

"See you later." The lanky man told him with a wink.

"Alright are we all ready now?" Fukasaku asked as he took out a scroll twice his size, "Okay now Naruto-chan you've already signed the contract with us toads so no need to put up a fuss."

"What do you mean by to put up a…" Naruto started but before he could finish his sentence, he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

'Reverse summoning huh?' the silver haired man thought as he looked at the slowly fading smoke.

"Well then, we'll leave." Jiraiya said with a slightly amused expression on his face at the action of the Toad Elder.

"Take care of him." Kakashi told him.

"Always." The perverted sennin with a nod, giving a reassuring smile at the jonin before it widened into a full grin, "See ya!"

He then disappeared along with Fukasaku in another puff of smoke, and leaving the silver haired man alone in front of the main gate.

_TBC_

**Yay they finally kissed! (And three times in one chapter! XD)**

**As you can see I'm starting to move away from the canon to start what I would call my own 'bouillabaisse'. :P I hope you will not be allergic to it. ;)**

**See ya!**


	19. Results of training and clingy jonin

**Yo! I hope you had wonderful holidays. Also, I wish you all a Happy New Year! May all your wishes come true, and have health as well as happiness! ;D **

**This is a filler chapter. But it still should be a fun one. ;) **

**I wanted to post one last chapter from France, as starting in two days I'm going to be living for a year and a half in Ireland. A whole new life awaits me. I'm pretty excited about it though also a bit nervous. =P **

**Anyway I hope you'll like this little chapter. It hasn't much purpose other than entertaining you. So I hope I did a good job on it. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

Lying in the grass near the riverbank, Kakashi was looking at the sky lost in thoughts. A longing glint was shining into his eyes as he watched the clouds pass without really seeing them. It had now been a month since Naruto had left for his training and the silver haired man was beginning to feel that time was dragging by. He was missing the blond a lot. Without the young man's bubbly presence life was so boring... Not even Guy's challenges had managed to keep him entertained for long.

Suddenly, as the man was moping and scowling seemingly at nothing, he heard a group of people talking animatedly not far from him.

"Hey did you see that cloud of smoke that appeared just a moments ago near the hokage tower?" one of them asked, "Do you know what it was?"

"Yeah I saw it." Another one said, "It was Naruto. He appeared out of nowhere along with Jiraiya-sama and a huge toad and two smaller ones. He looked rather different…"

Not caring to hear more, the jonin dashed away to the hokage tower, his heart thumping excitedly at the prospect of seeing Naruto again. Soon he arrived at the hokage tower and saw Gamabunta sitting in the yard surrounding the hokage tower. As he was turning his head left and right, frantically searching for the familiar blond head, the oversized toad looked down at him in amusement.

"If you are looking for the brat, he is in Tsunade-sama's office." The chief toad told him letting smoke come out of his nostrils as he took a puff out of his pipe.

"Thank you." The silver haired man said with a nod before taking off once again to go straight to the hokage's office.

Without knocking he entered the office's door to find himself facing the back of a blond figure that looked troublingly familiar. For just a few seconds, he had thought that it had been the Yondaime in front of him. This cloaked figure with bright blond hair had managed to confuse him for a moment... But thankfully when said person turned around to look at him, the bright blue eyes as well as those unmistakable whiskers like marks on the slightly round face erased any confusion he had. When this beautiful face beamed a blinding smile at him and that Naruto began walking toward him, Kakashi didn't waste any time in swooping the other into a fierce embrace. As he inhaled deeply, the blonde's scent enveloped him making him relax and release a tension in his whole body he hadn't known was there.

"I've missed you so much!" He heard the young man say in a whisper near to his ear, nuzzling his face into the crook of the older man's neck.

"I'm glad you are back." The silver haired man told him as he tightened his arms around him.

Then someone cleared their throat to get their attention, making both of them come back to reality as they realized that they weren't alone. A pink hue appeared on the blonde's cheeks while Kakashi had just realized that there were other persons in the room other than Naruto. They both turned to the one who had made the noise, whom happened to be Tsunade.

"Now if you are finished with your sentimental effusions. Maybe you can tell me Kakashi why you deemed it necessary to interrupt this meeting?" the female hokage demanded with an eyebrow raised in annoyance.

"Huh…" the jonin said out of words while the blond squirmed uncomfortably under the stern gaze of Tsunade.

How could he explain why he barged in here when he had no other reason than seeing Naruto?

"So that I could give a skills check up to Naruto?" he proposed sheepishly with a tentative smile, trying to lighten the hokage's mood, as he knew it could be nasty if he annoyed her too much.

"Kakashi…" the blonde woman grunted, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation, "I know you haven't seen each other for a month. But couldn't you have waited for the meeting to be finished?"

"Wait don't answer me, I already know what you are going to say…" she quickly said before the man could say anything, adding with a resigned sigh, "Now that you are here, you might as well stay and listen to the report."

Then the report began. It was Jiraiya who spoke first along with Fukasaku. They reported the success of Naruto's training in achieving the sennin mode technique. When they were finished, questions were asked to Naruto to know his impressions and his personal report. The silver haired jonin was flabbergasted to learn that not only he had mastered the senjutsu but that he might also have found a way to master Kyubi's power without getting hurt. Though he had been a bit disturbed when the blond had told them that he didn't want to say anything else yet until he was sure that he could fully achieve it. Taken aback, he wondered what exactly was going on. How did he find a way to master Kyubi's powers? Wouldn't the demon kitsune stop him from doing anything of the sort? It was with those questions in mind that Kakashi was walking alongside Naruto in hokage's tower corridors. As he looked at the young man next to him, he looked at him with a look of wonder. He didn't know if it was his clothes or this new self insurance but he seemed more…taller…that was a stupid thing to say but in a way he looked more imposing... But the jonin guessed taller could work also in some odd way. The silver haired found him even more attractive with this new aura of strength and confidence that surrounded him. With a loving gaze, he grabbed the blonde's hand and squeezed it gently in his. Looking up at him, the young man smiled brightly at him. When the older man didn't look at him anymore, Naruto's smile shaded off a bit, a look of deep thinking settling on his features instead.

What he had experienced while at Mount Myoboku had been quite something. He remembered his training in Mount Myoboku. He had never thought he would learn more than senjutsu while there or that he would have this kind of conversation with Kyubi.

_Flashback_

It had been two weeks now since he had begun his senjutsu training and Naruto had managed to clear the first few steps of the training. Right now he was sitting cross-legged in front of the Sacred Oil Fountain with two of his kage bunshins, gathering in natural energy. Suddenly one of the bunshins as well as the young man himself began becoming toads, which earned them both a powerful hit on the head courtesy of Fukasaku, making both bunshins disappear while the real Naruto rolled on the floor in pain.

"Ouch! Why do you have to hit so hard?" the blond whined loudly, as he held his head in his hands.

"Because you would have become a petrified toad if he hadn't aho!" Jiraiya exclaimed at him in exasperation, "And don't whine! It's already a miracle that you can by now gather natural energy. Now you have to learn how to control its flow into your body."

"Well I won't able to if I'm knocked unconscious!" the blond replied as he rubbed the sore spot on top of his head.

"Why don't we take a break?" Fukasaku proposed, "I think we made some real progress and resting for a few hours would be good."

"What? No!" Naruto protested, "I am so close to it! We can't take a break now!"

"Yes we can and we will." Jiraiya told him sternly, "Go meditate. It will do you some good."

"Whatever." The young man grumbled as he walked away from an exasperated Jiraiya and an amused Fukasaku.

The blond then went to some recluse place in the Myoboku forest. With a sigh he sat down on a moss covered flat stone, putting his head into his hands, with his elbows resting on his knees. Glaring at the ground like it had done something to him, Naruto began thinking of Kakashi. He missed him, and he just wanted for his training to be over so that he could quickly go back to Konoha. As he thought about the silver haired man, the young man just remembered something. One day as they were staying at the older man's flat, the jonin had told him about how it was during a meditation session that he had discovered a new technique for his sharingan.

'I guess maybe I could give it a shot…' he thought with a shrug putting himself into a meditating position.

Closing his eyes, Naruto began to empty his mind completely, letting his subconscious emerge at the surface. Suddenly, he was surprised when Kyubi appeared in front of him inside his mind.

'_What are you doing here?'_ the blond groaned, giving a half glare to the monster fox.

'_It's not my fault if I'm sealed inside you gaki.'_ The beast growled at him in a sneer, _'You know it's funny how the only hint of hatred that I can find in you is toward me and even that you are not able to do it correctly! All of this because of this damn silver haired jonin!'_

'_It is thanks to him that I am who I am today! Don't you dare badmouth him!'_ the young man replied with a growl of his own.

'_Tch! Yeah yeah I know it's your boyfriend. But that doesn't mean I have to like him.'_ The demon fox told him with something akin to a roll of eyes.

'_Could you just let me alone so that I can concentrate and maybe find a way to become stronger?'_ Naruto asked annoyed.

'_It's hard without my powers isn't it?'_ Kyubi taunted with a smug smirk.

'_Shut up!'_ the young man snapped, _'I don't want to be controlled by you and you won't lend me your powers for free. So I have no choice but to find another way to be strong.'_

'_What if I willingly lent you my powers without expecting anything in return.'_ The beast told him with an indecipherable smirk.

'_I don't believe you. You would never do something like that.'_ The blond said with a wary frown.

'_Let's make a deal.'_ The demon fox proposed, his smirk widening a little as he added, _'If you discover my real name I will lend you all the power you want without being hurt or controlled in any way.'_

'_Give me a break!'_ the young man scoffed incredulously, _'Like you would ever lend your chakra willingly! You have no honor, you would not respect the deal.'_

'_Be careful gaki! I don't like your tone! I will not make an offer like this twice.'_ Kyubi threatened with a glare, stepping toward him menacingly.

'_Stay back!'_ Naruto yelled at him, taking a step back himself.

Then something neither of them expected happened. Chains came out of nowhere and pinned the demon fox to the ground. The beast let out a roar of frustration as he struggled against his bindings.

'_Kuso gaki!'_ he cursed at the blond who too looked at the restrained demon in astonishment.

How did these chains appear? Did HE do it? If that was the case, then the young man might be able to use this at his advantage. He would be able to keep the beast away from his mind and use Kyubi's chakra without its consent. Deciding that he would pursue this new discovery to experience, and maybe achieve something incredible that would surpass any other jutsu he had, Naruto got out of his mind. From then on, the young man started training in both senjutsu and on his new mind training with meditation.

_End of Flashback_

As they finally arrived at the jonin's flat, Naruto plopped down on the couch while the Kakashi went to prepare some tea for them both. When the silver haired man came back with a tray with cups and a pot of hot tea and sat down next to the young man, the blond instantly snuggled up to his side. They sipped on their floral tea in silence for a while. Then the silver haired man decided to break the silence with something that had been bothering him since they had left the hokage's office.

"What is the lead you found to master Kyubi's power?" he asked straight forwardly, not knowing how to phrase it anyway else.

Naruto looked at him intently with a calculating look before breaking into an amused grin.

"So that's bothering you!" he said, trying to hide hir chuckle in, "I saw you were trying to act all cool about it but I knew you didn't like not knowing. You've never liked not knowing things."

"No! It's just that… Oh forget it!" Kakashi tried to argue before giving up, turning away with a sulky face.

"Aw don't sulk." The blond told him, having more and more of a hard time to restrain from laughing, before sliding his arms around the man's arm, pressing himself further against him, "If that bothers you so much I can tell you what happened at Mount Myoboku. Like that, you could maybe give me your opinion and help me with it."

The jonin then took his arm off of the young man's hold, making him feel rejected but was quickly reassured when an arm snaked its way around his shoulders, pulling him back against the silver haired man.

"You don't have to if you don't want to you know." The older man told him, kissing him on top of his head.

"No I want to." Naruto replied, resting his head against the man's shoulder, "I need someone to know so that I can have an exterior point of view. I want you to be this person."

Then the young jinchuriki told the silver haired man about the conversation he had had with Kyubi and what he had discovered he could apparently do. When he finished, Naruto looked up at Kakashi who had a pondering expression on his face. After a while, the silver haired man looked down at him with a look between surprise and awe.

"I believe what you experienced with the Kyubi is fuinjutsu." The lanky man told the young man, "To think that you managed to do some unconsciously without having even learned the basics of it…"

"What's fuinjutsu?" the blond asked curious.

"That's a type of jutsu that seal objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other things within another object." The jonin explained.

"Oh… Then it's not the first time I do some. I can already do the summoning jutsu." The young man said, "I even came up with a technique with Fukasaku-jiichan so that I can summon kage bunshins with it."

He gestured at the big scroll resting against the room's wall that he had brought with him from the hokage's tower.

"True. But what you did was something different." The older man replied, "What you actually achieved was rendering the seal imprisoning the demon fox stronger for a few seconds. That's something never seen before."

"Really? Then…does this mean that I might be able to chain the Kyubi down forever?" Naruto asked hopeful.

"Maybe. It will need some serious training to see the full extent of this jutsu's capabilities. But I'm sure you will be able to achieve some great things with this." Kakashi told him, his fingers playing with the blonde's hair discreetly, "Fuinjutsu is something quite amazing in which you seem to have a natural talent for."

With a smile adorning his face, the blond snuggled further into the older man, letting out a soft sigh.

"I hope so. It would be great to be rid of this beast's influence." He said, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the long and cool fingers of the silver haired man holding him close massaging his scalp.

Kakashi was so happy that Naruto was back that he never left his side for a minute for an entire week. Even when they had to part for the night, the jonin would wake up early in the morning and almost immediately would go to Naruto's apartment. As for the blond, he didn't mind one bit, as he was as reluctant to separate from the silver haired man at night and as eager to get back to him in the morning. For the next few weeks, the two spent most of their time in Kakashi's apartment, cuddling, kissing and hanging with the ninkens, which Naruto now knew very well and liked a lot as he considered them now family. He had actually learned from Pakkun that he had sometimes been babysat by the pack when the silver haired man had been too tired or the he was away and that Inari was busy as well. This had made the young man laugh, while the jonin had looked a bit sheepish.

Right now they were sitting on the couch watching one of Naruto's favorite movie, the young man cuddled up as usual against the older man, one of his arm circling a big bowl of caramelized pop corn while Kakashi had his arm around his waist, keeping him close. Funny enough, the pack was also there with Pakkun sitting next to Kakashi and the other ninkens dispersed a bit everywhere in the living room, each of them either watching the movie or napping. Bull, who was Naruto's favorite of all the pack, was sitting by the young man's feet, giving off a content growl whenever Naruto would scratch him behind his hear. The blond was completely engrossed with the movie, his eyes riveted to the screen and his lips mouthing each word he knew by heart while taking from time to time some pop corn. The silver haired man didn't care one bit about what was happening on the screen. He only had eyes for the young man in his arms. He remembered the first time he had had Naruto in his apartment alone for the first time. It had been the next day after the young man's birthday. The two of them had been both quite nervous, as they were all alone for the first time, in the older man's apartment nonetheless! It had been rather awkward as none of them knew how they should act but they had quickly managed to be more at ease as Kakashi served them some tea and made small talk with each other. It had ended into a long make out session in which Kakashi had felt like a hormonal teenager but hadn't had a care in the world about it. It felt so great to be with the one he loved. He never had what you could call a teenage experience. He had gone from childhood to adulthood really fast as his harsh past had pushed him to. He never had the chance to experience a first crush or the other issues that guys of his age had. It was a wonderful feeling than to be fooling around with someone you really cared about, to just spend time with this person and enjoy every moment of it. The jonin couldn't be happier. He had a gorgeous and lively young man as his boyfriend. Not only was he handsome but he was also a warm, caring person: his own personal sunshine. With eyes shining, Kakashi looked at Naruto with something akin to adoration deep in his orbs, love pouring out of every pore of his being. Tightening his hold on the young man's waist, the older man turned his head to the screen to watch the end of this movie that seemed captive all of his blonde's attention. When the movie was finally over, the jonin turned his head once again back to the young man in his arms.

"What do you think of going for a walk in the woods tomorrow?" the silver haired man proposed, rubbing absentmindedly in circles the hip of the blond, "I know a spot that is quite nice."

"Sure! That could be fun." Naruto replied lifting his head up to give a soft smile at the man holding him, "As long as I am with you anything is good."

This is how, the next day, the two men were walking into the woods at a leisured pace. Soon they arrived into a part of the forest where the trees' trunk was thick, and where the foliage only let through some sunrays that brought a certain glow to the place as it reflected on the lichen covered trunks. Despite the small amount of light, the ground was covered in bright green grass and plants of all sorts. Not far away there was a pond in which a few trees were raised by big thick roots that made them look like they hovered over the water. Though you would think a pond would be muddy, especially in the middle of a forest, the water was in fact so limpid that you would think that it was okay to drink from it. The place gave off a mysterious sense of calm.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" Naruto exclaimed in a low voice as if he was afraid of disturbing the peace and quiet of the area.

It was so wild and yet it felt so peaceful. With a gentle nudge, Kakashi led him to a dead tree trunk that was lying on the ground and they sat on it.

"It feels so serene here I could sit here for hours." The blond added as he inhaled deeply the musky scent of wet moss, dirt and trees, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the atmosphere surrounding them.

"It's actually nearby the cottage so when we move there you will be able to come here as much as you want." The jonin told him as he took the young man's hand in his, intertwining their fingers together.

"The cottage… We have progressed rather well on it haven't we?" Naruto said thoughtfully before adding while rubbing the back of his head with his free hand sheepishly, "Well it was more you than me since I've been gone for quite a while but still…"

"Yes." Kakashi agreed, "It should be soon ready to be inhabited."

"Good." The young man said with an eager hint in his voice, turning to look at the man straight in the eyes, "I want to live with you for good as soon as possible."

Looking back at the blond, the silver haired man then pulled his mask down, revealing his face and making the blond gasp softly. Though he had seen the older man without his mask a countless number of time when they were in the intimacy of the jonin's flat, Naruto had almost never seen the man take his mask off outside. With a smile on his face, the young man leant forward, moving his intertwined hand on the other man's thigh as leverage. Their lips met in a sweet, mouth-closed kiss, just enjoying the feel of the other's lips against theirs. They stayed like that for a few seconds before they parted and Naruto rested his head into the crook of the other man's neck, as Kakashi pulled him to his chest, making the blond sit on his laps.

"I can't wait to live with you." The young man mumbled, his breath tickling the jonin neck through the mask covering it.

"Me too." The silver haired man replied before placing a gentle kiss on the soft mop of blond hair.

The next day, the two of them met with Iyashi along with Inari in the evening to have a few drinks and eat something. They decided to go to the bar called Akachochin where Inari would usually take them, though it was the first time taking Naruto there. When they had sat and had finally ordered drinks as well as snack, they began talking.

"Sooo… How is it going?" Inari asked with a teasing grin, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Pretty good." Naruto replied, suspiciously calm, before adding with a challenging smirk, "Is everything good with Genma?"

"Everything is well." The nurse quickly replied, clearing her throat in an embarrassed manner, before she added in an amused tone at the look the young man was giving her, "Okay point taken! No more teasing on couples."

"Though I have to say that it is good to see you finally together and not hiding." Iyashi told them with a smile.

"It's not like we have anything to hide." Kakashi said with a nonchalant shrug, grabbing the blonde's hand underneath the table, making him look at him with a soft smile.

"Aww! You two are so cute!" Inari exclaimed in a squeal, making quite a few heads at other tables turn to look at them, "I wish I had a camera with me that would have immediately gone into my photos book!"

"Sis keep it down, people are looking at us." Her brother hurriedly told her in a low voice.

"Right… Hehehe sorry…" the woman apologized in a chuckle, before taking a swig of her drink.

"You've always been really loud Inari-neesan." Naruto teased her, adding with a suggestive smirk, "It's a wonder that you've never woken up the neighbors."

"He! Like you are one to talk!" Inari replied with a snort, "With that loud mouth of yours it's a wonder you've never had any complaints."

"I-I… It's not like that! We haven't…" the blond sputtered blushing madly.

"Really?" the nurse exclaimed flabbergasted, "Never ever? Wow… Have you kissed yet at least?"

"None of your business." The young man replied, turning his head away in embarrassment.

"Ah so you HAVE kissed!" the woman exclaimed with a grin.

"Don't you feel a bit left out of the conversation?" Kakashi whispered to Iyashi as the two men were looking at the other two bicker.

"I've learned since long not to interfere." The doctor told him with a small amused shrug.

"Well I'm kind of concerned by what they are saying. Shouldn't I say something?" the silver haired man asked.

"Let me give you an advice." Iyashi said, "Stay quiet and let them finish their bickering."

"Maybe you are right..." The jonin said as he continued watching the other two continue their little bickering.

"Ah! I knew it couldn't have been from anything else last time when I saw you and Kakashi walk out of an alley with your hair mussed and lips bruised!" Inari exclaimed, her grin widening at the look of utter mortification on the blonde's face.

"You shouldn't talk too much Inari-neechan." Naruto told her glowering slightly, before adding with a devilish smirk, "After all, you're not getting any younger. Maybe it should be time to settle down. Why hasn't Genma proposed yet?"

"Tch! You sure talk big for a runt like you. A midget like you don't have what it takes to do more than that." she taunted him in a comic drunken way, a vein throbbing on her temple as things were getting more heated, adding in a slurred voice with a smirk, "By the way when are you planning on becoming a man?"

"Alright that's it!" the blond exclaimed, slurring a little too, a vein popping on his forehead and his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, standing up from his seat, wobbling a little from standing up so fast and because of the alcohol already in his system, "Let's have a drinking contest to see who's the manliest here!"

"Hum Naruto…" Kakashi started to say, wanting to tell the young man that he had drunk too much already but also to tell him that Inari was not a man, but Inari interrupted him by replying in a loud inebriated voice.

"You're on!" the woman replied, raising up as well and acting in a complete unfeminine way, "I'm going to make you bite the dirt! You have in front of you someone who always tried to copy Tsunade-sama's drinking skills and who is now almost at the same level than her!"

'She calls it skills…' the silver haired man thought deadpanned as he looked at the two who were now engaged into a drinking contest.

The contest went on for a half an hour before any of them began to show signs of weakness. Then another few minutes passed on, before Inari surprisingly began to sway on her feet before passing out face first on the table.

"Yataa! I win, I win! I knew I would! Hahaha…" the blond began to cheer with a completely wasted grin plastered on his face, but before he could finish talking, Naruto felt his brain go fuzzy, and before he could realize what was going on he passed out on the table as well.

"This is what you get by doing this kind of contest." Kakashi said in a sigh, shaking his head disapprovingly as he looked at the two unconscious figure before he began taking care of Naruto while Iyashi took care of his sister.

"Still, I'm quite impressed Naruto held on like this. It was almost as if he was used to drink alcohol." The other man commented in slight awe, as he hoisted Inari on his back to carry her.

"Well Kyubi's power must have helped a lot I think. He must have drunk way too much for the demon's powers not to have been able to keep the drunkenness out of his system." The jonin replied as he too hoisted the blond in the same manner as Iyashi had done.

"Well I think it's time to head back home don't you think?" Iyashi said with an amused smile before giving a small wave to the silver haired man, "Goodnight Kakashi."

"Goodnight Iyashi-san. Take care of Inari-san." The lanky jonin told him, waving back at him.

"And you of Naruto." The other man replied before leaving.

Deciding that the young man was in no fit to be alone and that he would need someone to take care of him when he woke up, Kakashi took Naruto up to his apartment. When he arrived to his flat, he put the young man into his bed. After placing a bucket right next to the bed along with a small towel and a glass of water, the silver haired man sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the young man sleeping peacefully. He passed a hand through the blond hair, caressing the side of the blonde's sleeping face. He looked so beautiful. Under the rays of the moonlight, his hair was taking a white tint . He looked so pure, so innocent. Feeling love for the sleeping young man swell into his chest, Kakashi leant down and kissed the blonde's temple.

"Goodnight my angel." He whispered softly, nostalgia seeping a bit into him at those words but also an odd feeling of fulfillment as those words had taken a whole new meaning for him.

Unbeknown to him, Naruto had been awake enough to hear what he had said. Though he had not been completely awake, the young man had heard quite clearly the words that the jonin had said, which had felt so familiar and warm to him. This is how the blond, fell back into a deep slumber right after the room's door had been closed, a smile on his face.

_TBC_

**Alright! Next chapter will be coming to you from Dublin, Ireland! :D**

**With what I have planned for this next chapter, I think it will be a quite an entertaining one. At least I hope so. =P**

**See ya!**


	20. New Mission

**Hey guys! Here is my first chapter from Ireland! (I know that it doesn't change much for you but it feels kind of fun for me as everything is new right now. =P) **

**Anyway… I know that this chapter isn't really long (like most of my chapters recently…) and is not as filled with KakaNaru goodness as the one before but I hope this is still a good one. I actually wanted at first to write more for it but I decided to stop here. I start once again school tomorrow, and I think I might need to find my pace and get used to classes and all once again. So as I'm getting back into the school pace I don't want you to wait too long, so consider this chapter a first taste of what is to come into the next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

Breathing deeply, his heart pace slow and calm, Naruto slowly went into meditation, diving deep into his mind to the seal where Kyubi was residing.

'_Hello gaki.'_ The demon fox said before adding with sneer, _'Here to try again to chain me down are you? Well you can always try but I'll never go down without a fight. I proposed you my help willingly and you refused it. You are such a fool!'_

'_Better a fool than a tool.'_ The blond replied, not letting the presence of the beast bother him and concentrating on the seal as well as on his link with the monster fox.

For weeks now, the young man had been training, sometimes with the help of Kakashi, in fuinjutsu. Of course, the Kyubi had not been happy at all about it. In fact, he had done everything in his power to dissuade Naruto from doing so. Whether it was by proposing deals or trying to reason with him, the demon fox had tried everything that didn't take too much pride out of him. But nothing had worked. The blond wouldn't hear any of the beast's proposals or arguments. He kept on working on the seal to find a way to strengthen it and keep the beast's influence away. With the help of the silver haired jonin he had discovered that not only he could chain the Kyubi down but he could also use his chakra without worrying about the Nine-Tails' influence. He was now able to pin the demon fox down for a good 10 minutes, though he was not yet able to use the Nine Tails' chakra properly yet.

After an hour of training, where the Kyubi kept complaining and growling at him that he was not some guinea pig that could be handled and tested on as he pleased, Naruto reemerged from his mind, back into the real world. Fuinjutsu training was taking a lot from him, as the demon fox was not letting himself be used without a fight. At first he had been able to do only 20 minutes but as time went, his mental strength grew and he was able to stand much longer into the realm of the Kyubi's seal.

"How did it go?" the voice of Kakashi asked, making the young man open his eyes to look at the older man.

"As usual." The blond replied in a shrug, "I trained while Kyubi whined and gave me the evil glare."

"I see." The silver haired man said with an amused undertone.

One time, the jonin had accompanied the young man into the seal's realm, by connecting his mind with the blonde's one. It had been quite a complicated exercise to do but they had managed to do it nonetheless after a few tries. The encounter with the Kyubi had been quite interesting.

_Flashback_

Connecting with Naruto's mind had been quite a difficult task as it was a both complicated and really intimate thing to do, more intimate than anything else they had ever done. When they finally arrived into the young man's mind, they found themselves in front of a large gate with a seal on it, the Nine-Tails' seal cage.

'Eh! If it isn't Kakashi Hatake.' The beast growled his red eyes glaring holes at the jonin.

'Huh, hello.' The silver haired man said, not knowing how to respond to the demon fox, 'How are you?'

'So this is who the brat chose as his mate… I guess he could have made a worse choice.' Kyubi said with a scrutinizing look on his face, eyeing Kakashi from head to two before adding as he walked toward the gate with a malicious smirk, 'I would love to see what you are capable of.'

'Stay back! Don't even dare approach him!' Naruto told him with a threatening growl as he stood protectively in front of the jonin, making chains appear and restrain the beast's movements.

Suddenly the older man's eyes widened as he felt something he hadn't felt for quite a number of years. As the chains had appeared, he had felt two other distinct chakras covering them.

'Could it be…' the silver haired man thought with amazement. 'How is it possible?'

Those chakras were too familiar for him to not recognize them. He recognized those chakras to be the ones of his former sensei Minato and his wife Kushina. But how could their chakras be there? Could it be that they had managed to instill some of their chakra into the blonde's body and seal to help him against the Nine-Tails? That thought made the jonin's heart jump as a bunch of emotions surged through him, which included happiness as well as sorrow. Feeling the chakras of two persons he had held dear in his heart was bringing back painful as well as very pleasant memories. Knowing that even after they were dead, they still had made sure to be there for Naruto, brought Kakashi some hope and made him more confident about the potential of fuinjutsu for Naruto. After all, the Uzumaki clan had been famous for their sealing techniques. With those thoughts in mind the silver haired man looked at the blond with excitement. But then his excitement faded slightly as he wondered if he should tell him. After some pondering, he decided not to tell him as he was apparently already using the chakras of his parents unconsciously and telling him might just disturb him. In time he would tell him everything his parents did for him.

_End of flashback_

A few days later, Tsunade called both Naruto and Kakashi to her office.

"What did you call us for baachan? You have a mission for us?" the blond asked with trepidation, barging into the female hokage's office without knocking.

It had been a while since the young man had been given an important mission and he was quite excited about it. Moreover, if Kakashi had been summoned as well, it meant that the mission would be a big one right? Don't get him wrong. He was also really excited about doing a mission with the man. It has been quite a long time since they have done a mission together after all.

"Good morning to you too Naruto." The blonde woman replied sarcastically with a blasé look as she was now used to the young man's brash behavior.

"So what did you want us for Tsunade-sama?" the silver haired man asked, looking as cool and detached as usual in public.

"I have an A rank mission for you two. There is this group of Yakuzas that has been rampant in the area of our common frontier with the River country. Their illegal activities are causing us a great deal of problems as it endangers the fragile peace we had managed to get between us and the River country." Tsunade explained gravely, her chin resting on her intertwined hands and a frown on her face, "I would like you to infiltrate this organization and find enough proofs against them, so that we can officially have the consent of the daimyo to dismantle it before it can cause us any prejudice with the River country."

"An infiltration mission huh?" the jonin said with an intense look on his face, before asking, "When do you want us to leave?"

"Their headquarters reside in a city near the frontier called Kawabata no toshi. You will need one day and a half to get there." The female hokage said taking two folders that were on her desk and handing them to the two men in front of her, "Here is all the information we already gathered on this organization. I suggest you leave as soon as possible."

And so with that said the two men bowed politely, well at least Kakashi, before taking their leave to prepare themselves to leave.

"Can you believe it? This is first time we do a mission just the two of us!" Naruto said excitedly, as they walked side by side in the hokage tower's corridor.

"It is." Kakashi acknowledged with a small smile before adding in a serious tone, getting into tactician-shinobi mode, "But it will be quite a tricky mission. We will need to act very carefully. If we do a mistake it might blow our cover away in a second."

"Tch! Kill joy." The young man grumbled with a pout.

"Huh?" the jonin asked confused as to what he could have done to make the other sulk.

"Here I am getting all excited about doing a mission with you and you have to ruin the moment." The blond explained, a pout still adorning his face.

"Oh… Sorry." The silver haired man apologized though he wasn't sure exactly what he had ruined but feeling that he should apologize nonetheless, "Is there something I can do to make it up to you?"

"There is…" the young man said with an enigmatic grin, "When we come back from our mission, you can take me to Ichiraku and treat me to all the ramen I want!"

'Why do I get the feeling that I was tricked?' the older man thought with a sigh, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple in astonishment at the blonde's hidden manipulative skills.

They then separated to each go to their apartment and prepare themselves for their mission. An hour later, they met back at the main gate where Tsunade along with Shizune were waiting for them. They had both dressed in civil attires. While Naruto was just wearing a shirt with jeans, Kakashi was wearing a black suit along with a black shirt. He had traded his mask for a bandanna like piece of cloth to hide the lower part of his face, and had decided to just close his eyes and to pretend he was one-eyed. There were no sign of their belonging to any shinobi or any other military force, as they needed to be as inconspicuous as possible. If they wanted to be able to join the Yakuza organization, they needed to attract attention not as ninjas but as some type of rogues.

"Alright! I see you are both ready." The blonde woman said with an approving nod before adding with a stern tone of voice, "Gentlemen, the future of the village is in your hands so you better not screw up!"

"Wow… You have the words to get us pumped up baachan…" Naruto commented with a deadpanned expression on his face, while the expression on Kakashi's face was pretty much the same.

"Well then I suggest you complete this mission quickly and bring back good news to the village." The female hokage told him, cracking her knuckles threateningly which made the blond let out an audible gulp nervously, before she added with a sickening sweet voice, an over cheerful smile plastered on her face that looked more sadistic than anything else, "Good luck! Have a safe trip!"

'Lunatic baaba…' the blond thought with a slightly appalled look on his face at the scary look in Tsunade's eyes, 'She must be drunk again…'

Then the two men began to leave, walking to the road that would lead them to Kawabata no toshi. As Tsunade had said, it took them one day and half to reach the town where the group of Yakuzas had its headquarters. They went to an inn not too far from the club owned by the Yakuzas and where it was said the organization had its headquarters. No reliable source had been able to tell where the headquarters really were. All Kakashi and Naruto knew was that if you wanted to join the organization, you had to present yourself at the club. Before they arrived at the inn, the two of them went into a side alley.

"You go first and book a room for you. I'll arrive 15 minutes later and also book a room for myself okay?" Kakashi told Naruto, putting his bag down next to him.

"Got it." The young man said with a nod before beginning to leave and head toward the inn.

But as he was walking away, the jonin suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Wait." He said, making the blond turn around to look at him confusedly.

"Wh-hmph?" the young man began to say but was interrupted as a pair of lips pressed against his.

Instantly, Naruto melted into the passionate kiss that the older man was giving him, wounding his arms up around the silver haired man's neck and pressing his body further into the other's. When the kiss ended, the blond kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds before looking at Kakashi in an amazed daze.

"What was that for?" he asked still a bit breathless.

"Just because I wanted to." The jonin replied with a smirk, his face already hidden once again by his mask, before telling with a roguish wink, "You better go before the need to kiss you senseless again comes back."

The blond looked at him in amused wonder before leaving quite hastily when the older man took a new step toward him, not wanting to be swept once again into a mind-blowing kissing session.

The silver haired man watched the blond disappear into the inn's entrance before leaning his back against the alley's wall and taking out the latest Icha Icha book from his pocket. Deeming it had been at least 15 minutes since the blond had gone into the inn, the jonin decided to go in as well.

"Irashaimase!" an elder lady with mid-grey hair welcomed him with a bow, " My name is Aoko. I am the owner of this small inn. Welcome to Hoshikuzu inn."

"Hello." Kakashi said, bowing back politely at the lady, "I would like to rent a room."

"How long will you be staying sir?" Aoko asked.

"I don't know yet." The silver haired man replied, a small smile showing through his eyes.

"It's funny, just a few minutes ago a young man told me the exact same thing." She told him with an amused smile.

"Really?" the jonin asked, acting surprised and putting a hint of interest into his voice as if to not look totally aloof.

"I guess you are all coming for the same reason. Though I hope I am mistaking." The elder woman said with a suddenly glum face.

"What reason would that be madam?" Kakashi asked with genuine curiosity.

"You will see soon enough." The greying lady told him with a sad smile before handing him the keys to his room.

With that said she led the silver haired man to his room before leaving after wishing him a nice stay and to call for her if he wanted anything. The jonin looked around at his room. It was quite a simple room actually, with its cream walls and the furniture in pine trees, but it had a nice and rather serene feeling to it. The bed was actually a double one with rich chocolate colored linen. The adjoining bathroom was small but functional and the jonin couldn't have asked for anything else. He was quite satisfied with the room he had, he hoped Naruto was getting comfortable in his room as well. He wanted to go see the blond so bad but he couldn't. From now on they couldn't be seen together, as they had to pretend they didn't know each other. And if the stares of the different people he had received since entering the town were any indication, then they were observed very closely. He wouldn't be surprised if the organization already knew of their arrival. He now needed to play it solo, at least for a while, and make himself remarked in a way that would make the group of Yakuzas want him in.

That chance appeared sooner than expected, as the very same day, as he was walking in the street, someone bumped into him. It appeared to be some kid, just a bit older than Naruto, some punk that was apparently thinking he was tough and wanted to prove himself. So as his character let guess, the young man did not apologize, instead yelling at Kakashi to be careful when walking. The jonin felt a bit sorry to do this but he had to show he could be rough and merciless if he wanted to have the appropriate reputation he had to have to pass as a future yakuza. This is how he seized the punk by the collar and lifted him off the ground, half choking him.

"Hey kuso gaki!" he said loudly so that everyone could hear, with a cool almost cold-blooded demeanor, "Who do you think you're talking to? You dare bump into me and not apologize? You should be bowed down on the ground, your face eating dust while begging for my forgiveness!"

Silently apologizing to the young man beforehand, Kakashi then kicked him in the stomach with his knee, cutting the young man's respiration as well as spraining a few of his ribs and bruising his stomach badly. He then slammed his face violently to the ground, the distinct sound of a nose breaking being heard. A few gasps from the people around could be heard and the silver haired man was at least happy that he got a lot of attention. Though the yelling the young man had done had already brought a lot of attention to them, but this was sure to attract the kind of attention the jonin wanted. As the young man laid there, almost unconscious, blood dripping from his nose, Kakashi crouched and leaned down next to the other's ear.

"When you regain consciousness, leave this town immediately." He whispered to him before standing back up and saying in a louder voice so that everyone could hear, adding a cruel tone to it, "You are lucky I'm in a good mood kid."

He then began walking again as if nothing had happened, walking past the young man as if he was invisible. A lot of people were looking at him now. Most of them had a scared or horrified look on their face. But a few of them had a pensive, interested look, which could allow the silver haired to think that they were from the organization. With a sentiment of satisfaction for having attracted a lot of attention on him but also of guilt for having beaten a kid like this, the jonin walked back to his room with some food for tonight.

As for Naruto, the blond hadn't had that much chance. He had racked through his mind for hours to find an idea on how he could distinguish himself to get noticed by the organization he hadn't found anything. The only thing he had done to dignify himself by was to act as a total scum with everyone and trying to show how strong he was. He had never been good with acting…and this mission was quite a challenge for him. He couldn't believe with what ease Kakashi could act. It was like he had been a yakuza all his life… When the young man had heard about what had happened in the street earlier he hadn't believed his ears. But then again, the jonin had loads of experience compared to him. It must be like some routine for him. He looked so at ease...

'Oh well!' the blond thought with shrug, 'There's nothing I can do anymore. I'll just have to give my all tomorrow and be so convincing in my role that they 'll think I'm indispensable to their organization.'

The next day, Kakashi was the first one to go to the club. In fact, this club was no ordinary club. This club that was called Heart Beats was a hostess club, which made the silver haired man snort mentally at the lame name of the place. But then again it was a hostess club. People were not coming there for the name of the establishment but for the beauties that were inside. As he approached the place, the jonin saw a tall guy who looked like he could be a bouncer in front of the establishment.

"Hey, I would like to speak to your boss." Kakashi told him in this cool almost cold attitude he had adopted for his character.

"He's busy for the moment. He doesn't have time to waste with people like you." The big man said with a sneer.

Not wanting to argue for hours and knowing that physical acts spoke louder than words in the underworld, with a sigh Kakashi cut short to the oncoming negotiations and argument by giving a well placed punch into the man's stomach, which made him bend over in two under the violence of the hit that made it hard for him to breathe for a minute.

"Well that's too bad I'm going in anyway." He replied to the 'bouncer' as he began opening the door of the club.

As he entered the club, the jonin first noticed the lack of natural light even in midday. There was a deemed light that was spread into the whole room, creating a hushed and voluptuous atmosphere with the red couches and sofas and the mahogany barstool and furniture. In the center of the room, a group of men were sitting and talking between themselves. Nobody else was there except for two girls who obviously worked there. They were each sitting next to a man, who looked to be the leader of the group, pressing their supple body against his side. It reminded Kakashi of a sandwich as he looked at those two women who, willingly or not, fawned over the man like he was the most handsome man on the planet, which, if the silver haired man had to give his opinion, was absolutely not the case. The man had his black hair pushed back over his head with what seemed like a lot of hair gel, he looked like some odd dandy or something like this. He smelled of cologne three miles away, and wore so much jewelry around his neck and on his wrists and hands that it hurt to look at him directly. It was the exact stereotype of the man with power who enjoyed showing off. Though he did look from the Fire country, the man had a way of dressing that was quite unusual for the country, as it was more the Tea country's style for Yakuzas. Kakashi deduced that this man had to just be an underling who just had a little more power than the others, something like the leader of the gangs of the region.

"Who are you?" the man demanded in a gruff voice, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I'm Obito Nakajima." Kakashi presented himself, giving the fake name he had decided to use for his cover, before bowing respectfully the way it was custom in this kind of community as he asked, "I wish to join your organization."

"Tch! So you think you can come in like that and ask to join us on a whim?" the other said in a superior sneer, as he seemed to enjoy this little play of power, completely ignoring the attempts from one of his men to get his attention.

Then something happened that none of them would have expected.

"Now Hayao I wouldn't speak so hastily when you apparently don't even know what this man is capable of." The deep and authoritatively calm voice of a man startling badly the man named Hayao while Kakashi was slightly surprised.

As the man moved toward them, out of the shadows of what seemed to be a corridor that had hid him from the men's vision, the jonin could now see what the man looked like. Looking in his mid-fifties, he had short grey-white hair and a tanned skin. He actually had an outfit that was more befitting of the ones of the Fire country for men with power. He was wearing a grey hakama along with a white kimono tucked into it along with a navy blue haori. On the sleeves, you could see the emblem of the organization painted on them.

"Fujita-oyabun!" the man named Hayao greeted out in surprise before getting on his knees and bowing to the ground, putting his two hand on the ground as well in a reverential manner.

"You should listen to your men from time to time. They would have told you about this man before you looked down at him without knowing his potential." The older man named Fujita told his subordinate before nodding toward Kakashi as he added, "This man has more guts, brains and strength than I have seen in a long time. He will be a great asset to our organization."

Hayao looked at Kakashi from head to toe as if studying him, his eyes still holding a suspicious glint in their orbs, his lips set into a thin line as if having a hard time believing his boss. The older man who had noticed his underling disbelief turned to look at him with severity.

"Do you have something to say about my decision?" he asked with a menacing undertone that accepted no contradictions, his eyes hard.

"No." the other said lowering his gaze to the ground submissively.

When satisfied with his subordinate's obedience, Fujita turned to Kakashi with a kind smile.

"What's your name?" he asked the undercover jonin.

"Obito Nakajima sir." The silver haired man said once again.

"Well then Obito, let's share a cup of sake to seal your admission into our organization." The old man told him, motioning to come with him to sit in the sofas nearby while one the men had rushed to bring them a cup along with a bottle of sake, "I will introduce you later to the rest of the men."

They then shared the customary cup of sake that meant that they were creating a bond between each other. Not long after they were done, the front door of the club opened in a loud bang, revealing in its opening a blue-eyed young man with blond hair. Kakashi watched Naruto walk in with great confidence, and a look on his face that the jonin guessed was meant to be intimidating. Though he had to give him credit about the whole brash and tough attitude, the silver haired man couldn't help but think that this could work for a gang of delinquents but not for a gang of Yakuzas.

"What do you want kid?" Fujita asked with an eyebrow rose in question as he eyed the blond critically.

"I'm here because I want to join your group." The blond replied, looking back straight into the man's eyes with a steady gaze.

"You have guts I'll give you that." The oyabun told him with an amused smirk before taking on a serious face, "But I don't want kids in my organization."

"But you don't know what I'm capable of yet!" Naruto protested, trying in vain to convince the oyabun to take him into the organization.

"What I already see doesn't interest me. Obito," the older man called, turning to the silver haired man, "show this kid the way out."

Without a word, Kakashi gave a nod of acknowledgment before heading toward Naruto and grabbing him roughly by the back of his shirt and began to drag him to the exit, while the blond was yelling at him to let go and kicking.

"I'm sorry." the jonin whispered in a low voice so that only the young man could hear right before throwing him out of the club.

Kakashi hadn't wanted it to be like that but unfortunately Naruto hadn't made a big enough impression to be accepted into the organization. He guessed they would have to find a solution on making Naruto do something that could get him close to the organization and their activities. After all, if Tsunade-sama had deemed this mission to be a two men's job that meant that Naruto couldn't possibly go back to the village.

A few hours later, during late afternoon, the undercover jonin found himself in a very large room, which happened to be the club's main room where he had been before, in front of a group of 40 men who were all members of the organization. When he had first entered the club, he had been so focused on the men in the middle of the room that he hadn't even take the time to look at the room in details. The room was actually big enough to welcome at least a hundred customers, which made Kakashi wonder how many hostesses were actually working there.

"Everyone, I present to you Obito who is our newest member in the family." Fujita proclaimed loudly, putting a paternal hand on the silver haired man's shoulder, "Now let's celebrate our new member's arrival! Let the girls enter the room."

"Ossu!" the men responded along with cheers before opening the doors to let the women who worked there as hostesses enter the room.

"Go enjoy yourself with some of the girls." The oyabun told Kakashi with a smile as he began walking to go enjoy himself as well, "We have some real beauties here and we actually just got a new girl earlier today that is a real babe."

This is at this moment that Kakashi heard the voice of a woman talking to him.

"Would you like me to entertain you sir?" the crystalline voice asked in an impish tone, sending chills into his spine.

The voice feeling familiar to him, the jonin turned abruptly toward the direction the voice was coming from, his eyes growing as wide as saucer plates for an instant as he came face to face the voluptuous and curvy blonde of Naruto's sexy no jutsu.

_TBC_

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'll do everything I can to not be too long before I post another chapter.**

**See ya! ;)**

**PS: Sorry for the cliffy I could not resist… =D**


	21. Organization Infiltration Part 1

**Hey everyone! I don't know if you celebrated the Chinese New Year but I did and it was awesome! The dragon dance, the delicious food, the street festivities, the movie festival and other concerts, the red envelopes… Ah I want to do it again! I had to wait Dublin to have this experience…!****Anyway, if you didn't celebrate it I recommend that you do next year if you can. This is rather fun to experience. ;) **

**Anyway I'll let you enjoy this new chapter.**

**But first I'm going to say one more thing. **

**Xin Nian Hao everyone! =D**

_*Previously*_

_"Would you like me to entertain you sir?" the crystalline voice asked in an impish tone, sending chills into his spine._

_The voice feeling familiar to him, the jonin turned abruptly toward the direction the voice was coming from, his eyes growing as wide as saucer plates for an instant as he came face to face with the voluptuous and curvy blonde of Naruto's sexy no jutsu._

Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes. There in front of him was what he thought was the feminine version of Naruto. She was wearing a red silk Chinese dress, fitting tightly against her womanly curves. With her blonde hair tied in a pony tail, she looked at him with twinkling bright blue eyes.

"Naruto?" he asked tentatively, as if he wasn't sure it was really the young man.

With a secretive smile, the blonde young woman winked at him before getting closer to him and leaning in next to his hear.

"Pretty clever of me huh?" Naruto said in a cocky tone with his feminine voice.

Though still astonished, the jonin regained control of himself and put his façade back on.

"We'll have to talk about this later." He said in a low voice so that only the blonde could hear him.

At this the young woman pouted before smiling widely and linking her arm to his.

"Well then for the time being let's have a few drinks and enjoy ourselves." She said as she began to lead him to a couch, "Like that you can keep me company."

With a sigh, the silver haired man resigned himself to have to spend the night watching over Naruto so that nothing happened to him while in this form. Seriously had he though at all when deciding to use this jutsu to get inside the organization? This was a cruel world for women. Though he knew Naruto could normally defend himself, in this form he would be an easy prey for all those animals that call themselves men. Moreover, integrating the organization as a hostess? Did the young man have a rape wish or something? It was common knowledge that hostesses were not there just to pour drinks and listen to the dull lives of the customers. Just the thought of one of those disgusting men touching Naruto made Kakashi sick.

As they were walking toward one of the red couches, they heard wolf-whistles as the men around them looked at Naruto with an appreciative leer and looked at Kakashi in envy.

"Hey look at that! Obito got himself the new girl!" one of them exclaimed as he pointed at the two.

"Ah Obito you lucky dog!" another one yelled, apparently quite inebriated by alcohol, one of the hostess sitting on his lap, "You better tell us how it was tomorrow!"

Not paying attention at any of the loud remarks of his 'comrades', the silver haired man kept walking, his arm sliding around the blonde's hips to pull her closer to him in a possessive manner. Once they had sat down, Naruto ordered two drinks for them before scooting closer to Kakashi. When the drinks arrived, the jonin took a sip of his drink from a straw that could conveniently go under his bandana without revealing his face to others. Then, after putting his drink back on the table, he suddenly grabbed Naruto by the hips and lifted her to make her sit on his laps, earning a surprised squeak from the blonde.

"What are you doing?" the young woman asked in whisper.

"Making sure your reckless decision doesn't get you in trouble already." The older man replied as he held the blonde in a way that clearly stated that no one was to approach them, staking his claim on Naruto for the night.

"My what?" Naruto hissed between his teeth, his body tensing as he was upset that Kakashi was reacting like this to his idea of using the Sexy no jutsu.

He didn't understand why the silver haired man was acting this way. After all wasn't this the best way to gather information? Men are always more talkative in front of women as they flaunt all their accomplishments to seduce them and get their favors.

"Let's not argue right now okay?" Kakashi pleaded, trying to calm the blonde by rubbing his thumb in circles on the blonde's hip, "I understand that you want explanations about why I don't like your decision. But we have to pretend to fool around for a while and then I'll take you to my hotel room. Like that, those guys will think that we left to spend the night together and we will able to talk freely."

"Hmph! Okay." The blonde agreed reluctantly, forcing herself to relax a bit and leaning back into the man's broad chest.

"Thank you." The jonin murmured low in the young woman's ear, involuntarily sending shivers up her spine before he nuzzled slightly the sensitive skin behind her ear before lowering to the crook of her neck.

"You're welcome." The young woman said, slightly turning into the older man's lap to look at him as she began to act flirty with him as well, putting on a show for the others, "But you better explain everything to me in accurate details later if you don't want to have to deal with me."

"I promise." Kakashi said after a small cringe as he had a feeling that he did not want to mess with Naruto.

The blonde's temper reminded him of Kushina whom he had seen only once angry, but it had been enough for him to not approach her for a few days. Sometimes he had wondered how his shisho had been able to deal with that temper of hers but he guessed that was what love was all about, loving and being there even during the scary fits of your loved one. Suddenly, a realization hit the silver haired man.

"By the way, what's your name?" he asked as he realized that he didn't know what name the young man was using under his feminine form.

"Koiko." Naruto said with a foxy smile.

Later that evening, Kakashi and Naruto had finally left the club and went to the jonin's hotel room. As they had passed the reception, the owner of the hotel had looked at them with worry in her eyes at whom she thought was the young woman named Koiko and with disappointment at Kakashi. When they arrived in Kakashi's room, Naruto went to sit on the bed and was about to undo his jutsu but the older man stopped him from doing so.

"Wait. They could be outside, looking through the window." The silver haired man told him, walking toward the window, "Let me pull the curtains close before and then you can undo your jutsu."

Once the jonin had pulled the curtains close, Naruto undid his jutsu. Glad to be back in his male form, the blond stretched his arms up, making his joints crack in a satisfying pop, letting out a content sigh. Then, the young man turned toward Kakashi, who had went to sit one of the only chair of the room, with an attentive expression on his face.

"So, why does my decision of using the Sexy no jutsu upset you?" he asked directly, his voice demanding an answer and a good one quick.

"I don't know if you realize this, but being an hostess is a really hard and risky job." The older man told him in the most diplomatic way he could find.

"Yeah I know that." The blond said with a nod, kicking his feet in the air in a carefree attitude, "I didn't take this decision without knowing what I was getting myself into."

"I'm not so sure about that." Kakashi replied with a frown, as his voice took a worried, almost agonizing tone, "Someday, a customer is going to want to sleep with you and you'll have no choice but to accept or at the least you are fired and at the worst you will be raped and forced to stay in the club against your will. Yakuzas are not people you can easily evade."

This made Naruto swallow with difficulty as he felt like there was a lump in his throat. He had to admit that he hadn't thought of that possibility.

"The day one of the customers will ask to sleep with you will arrive sooner or later. And I think this day will be coming much sooner than you expect." The jonin added gravely.

"So that means that I have to prepare myself for sleeping with men right?" the blond asked with a frown, gnawing on his lower lip, feeling rather nervous now.

"Not exactly." The older man said thoughtfully as a plan appeared in his mind, Naruto looking at him in confusion, "I think I have an idea on how you could avoid sleeping with them."

"What is it?" the young man asked.

"You could use genjutsu to put them under the illusion that they are sleeping with you." The silver haired man said, standing up and pacing through the room as his mind was running full speed about this possibility.

"Could that work?" Naruto asked sounding a bit hesitant, an underlying tone of fear in his voice.

When the jonin noticed the fear tainting the blonde's voice, he quickly went to sit next to him and took him in his arms where the young man didn't wait to snuggle up to him.

"I will not let those pigs even lay a finger on you." Kakashi told him in a fierce voice, holding the blond tightly against him.

"But I'm useless at genjutsu." Naruto mumbled, his face half-hidden into the older man's chest.

"I'll teach you." The jonin replied, as he softly petted the young man's hair in a soothing manner, before he added in a light joking manner trying to brighten the blonde's mood, "I may not look like it but I'm a good teacher."

"That you are." The young man said with an amused smile, closing his eyes as he took comfort into the presence of the silver haired man.

They stayed quiet for a moment, Kakashi combing the blonde's hair with his fingers while Naruto was just enjoying the feel of the older man's fingers gently massaging his scalp.

"Ne Kakashi." Naruto said his eyes lost in the vague.

"Yes Naruto?" the jonin replied as he kept petting the young man's hair.

"Since we have to pretend anyway. Can I sleep with you tonight?" the blond asked as he lifted his head to look at the silver haired man, before quickly adding as the other looked back at him with a bewildered expression, "Oh no! Not like this! Just…you know…sleep next to each other… I would feel better if I could feel you next to me tonight."

At this, Kakashi smiled softly at him.

"Sure." He said before leaning down to give a kiss on his forehead to Naruto.

A week passed by and Kakashi was slowly making his place into the organization. Soon after he had infiltrated it, the oyabun, who had apparently noticed the tactics skills of the silver haired man, realizing that he was quite smart, had quickly decided to make him an advisor. This was quite unprecedented into the organization, as never an oyabun had promoted a newbie especially to this kind of post, and it made quite a few people grind their teeth in jealousy. The one who was the most angered by this sudden promotion was Hayao. For some reason, he hadn't liked Kakashi at all from the beginning and this promotion had only strengthened his hatred toward the other man, as he had coveted this place himself. The undercover jonin didn't mind much and just ignored the man whenever he didn't have to speak to him or work on anything with him.

Today was actually the man's first day as an advisor. He learned that as an advisor, he was working under one of the senior advisors that worked directly with the oyabun. To say that the jonin was quite smug about this turn of event would be an understatement. Never would he have thought that after only a week he would already be so close to the top of the organization's hierarchy. Though he kept himself wary of the people around him and especially the oyabun, as he wasn't sure he had been promoted only for his skills. It could be a possibility that they were wary of him and that they just wanted to keep him close to watch him.

Right now he had a meeting with his senior-advisor, who wanted to share the traditional cup of sake as well as briefing him on the organization's current activities and discussing about them with him. As an advisor he was going to have access to much more information than before, though he would have to gather solid proof to be able to dismantle the organization and have authorization to do it. As he was walking into the corridor that was running along the back of the club's main room, Kakashi saw a group of hostesses walking in his direction. As he was getting closer from them, he suddenly noticed that Naruto was among them. The girls, who had now noticed him, were giggling and whispering between themselves while glancing at him. As for Naruto, the blonde looked at him intensely with a hidden smile on her face, trying not to look too obvious as she did so. The jonin, for his part couldn't help but stare at her with a mysterious glint in his eyes as he saw what she was wearing today. It appeared that every day at the club had its theme, so as to not bore the customer, and today's theme was kimonos that arrived at mid-thigh. Naruto's one was of a Hawaiian blue with purple and dark blue irises painted on it, the sleeves were quite long and the V collar was making a rather enticing cleavage where you could not see much and that let the rest at your imagination. To complement the rest, she had knee high white stockings and a purple sash hugged her tightly around the waist, tied in the back with a lovely bow. All in all she was quite pretty in this outfit.

"Good morning Nakajima-sama!" the giggling group of girls chanted in chorus, batting their eyelashes seductively at him.

"Hello girls," the silver haired man greeted back with a wink, "Looking as lovely as ever."

"Ah Nakajima-san you're a naughty little boy!" one of them exclaimed with a smile and a motion of her finger as if she was scolding a mischievous child, looking like she was the oldest of the group of hostess, "I hope we'll see you soon in the club."

"That would be my greatest pleasure, ladies. I would love to spend some time with you all as I am sure you must be very entertaining." Kakashi replied with a fake smile that he showed through his eyes, making the girls squeal and coo at his gentleman way of speaking.

"Well then ladies, I wish you all a good day." He told them as he took his leave but not before having glanced one more time at Naruto who hadn't stopped looking at him.

As he left, the group of girls ogled him from head to toe.

"Nakajima-san is gorgeous isn't he?" one of them said in a dreamy sigh.

"He is so virile." Another one added, ogling the leaving man's backside with a hungry gaze.

"And yet he looks so gentle." A girl next to Naruto finished.

Naruto looked at them all in amusement as he thought that this man they were drooling on was his, and he was sure as hell not going to share him!

"I can't believe how lucky you are Koiko to have had him first." The first one who had spoke said before adding with a dreamy smile, "I bet he is fantastic in bed!"

At this, the blonde couldn't help but blush madly. After all, hearing that your boyfriend must be quite a catch in bed, when you haven't been intimate with him, was quite a weird feeling.

"Ah! You are blushing!" one of the girls squealed as she pointed at Naruto, a grin appearing on her face, "So that means he is!"

"Ok we should hurry before Mama yells at us for dawdling." The blonde young woman said, beginning to walk quickly to the door that led to the main room, followed by the other girls who kept teasing her along the way.

Mama was the 'manager' of all the hostesses. She was in charge of taking care of the girls as well as tending to the bar. The other girls called her Mama because she was acting like their mother. She was their confidant as well as their supervisor. Of course she didn't have much power other than being able to make the girls' life a living hell if she didn't like one of them. Though she was not hostess, the Yakuzas were treating her like she was even lower than the girls she had to supervise. It was quite an ingrate job. But the woman, though quite authoritarian if you didn't follow the rules, could be quite kind if you didn't mess with her and kept a low profile.

As Naruto was walking to the main room club with the girls, he thought about his first week as a hostess. Luckily for him he guessed he only had had to fill the drinks and lighting the cigarettes of his customers. Nothing else had been done. Of course more or less drunk customers would regularly grope him but he had learned how to throw a charming smile at them with some false almost teasing prudish attitude when he talked to them. It was quite creepy how men seemed to like him quite a lot. He was rather glad for his intense training with Kakashi in genjutsu as he felt that he would need it quite soon as he could sense some kind of tension beginning to appear among his customers, especially the "regular" customers that he began to have. In a week time the young man was now able to give an illusion that lasted one hour. The particular genjutsu technique he was learning was one where he didn't have be concentrated once his victim was under his jutsu. He just had to use the correct amount of chakra into the illusion, the amount of chakra corresponding to the length of the illusion as more chakra meant a longer illusion. The best part of this illusion was that it didn't require Naruto to have any imagination about what he would put his victim under, as it reacted to the person's desires and fantasies, which the blond was immensely grateful about that as he wouldn't have to even picture anything.

'I wonder how they would react if they knew I was a guy. I bet their face would be priceless!' the blond thought, smirking internally an evil smirk.

Along with the genjutsu practices, the two men had had done meetings afterward to discuss how their mutual covers were going. Though for the last week they had met everyday, they had now decided to space out their meetings, since Kakashi now deemed Naruto good enough in genjutsu to fool people with no ninjutsu knowledge, so that there was less chance for them to get caught or act suspiciously. They didn't have a specific day of meeting and had come up with a code to tell each other that they could meet that day. If Naruto could meet with the jonin that night, he would wear in his hair a hairpin with strasses in the form of stars. In return, if Kakashi was free this night as well, the silver haired man would discreetly open up the top button of his shirt or loosen his tie if he wore one, silently saying by this that they would meet in the older man's hotel room. It was a simple, circumspect, and quite effective way of communicating.

Later that day, Kakashi was walking back to his hotel, deep in his thoughts as his mind replayed the reunion he had just had.

_Flashback_

Kakashi was sitting in chair in front of his "superior" after having shared a cup of sake.

"From now on you are under my command." The man who was named Goshi said with a curt nod, his face looking extremely serious, "Take great honor of this place that the oyabun has entrusted you in."

"Hai." The silver haired man replied with a nod of his own, his hands on his thighs, looking quite determined.

His new superior, compared to Hayao, looked really serious and strong. He had black hair that seemed to go grey a bit on the sides of his face. His face features were set in a hard expression, with a slightly square jaw as well as a frown constantly adorning his face, making him look a bit intimidating. But after all, he wouldn't be one of the oyabun's direct subordinate if he weren't. An aura of strength and calm confidence emanated from him, contrary to what the undercover jonin had experienced with the underlings he had been with for the first week. If the man hadn't been the enemy he would surely have admired him.

"Now I'm going to talk to you about the organization's current activities." The man told him, which made the other sit straighter.

'Here it goes.' Kakashi thought, waiting impatiently to learn more about the organization's activities.

"As I think you are already aware," the older man began to say, "we get some of our money through the hostess and strip clubs that we have as well as the taxes that the shops of the area have to pay us each month. But this money is only a small portion of what we are actually making."

At this the silver haired man's ear perked up as he listened intently to the man's words.

"We have made alliances with a few organizations such as the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, who is our main partner. We are doing trades with them of girls for our clubs, to bring some novelty exoticism, in them as well as some other small business" Goshi continued, making the undercover jonin widen his eyes internally while he showed an impassive face, barely rising an eyebrow as a reaction, "We have managed to get our hands on a few companies in the Fire country, the Wind country as well as the River country so that we have insurances as well as get some cash out of them."

"Those alliances are still quite new so it is of vital importance to strengthen those bonds between our different organizations to have a powerful force." The dark haired man finished, reclining slightly against his seat as he looked searchingly at Kakashi, looking closely at the man's reaction and watching for the slightest emotion on his face.

Looking apparently pleased with what he found on the silver haired man's face, he added something else.

"In less than three weeks, representatives of the Sand organization will come to discuss about our next courses of actions and take some merchandise home for their own clubs." He told Kakashi, who instantly understood what he meant by merchandise which gave him a sick feeling in his stomach, "Now come. I am going to present you to the men you will be supervising."

With that said, they stood up and the jonin followed his new superior to the room where the men he was supposed to manage were.

_End of flashback_

A few days later, Kakashi and Naruto managed to meet at the jonin's hotel room, where the older man didn't waste any time to tell the blond what he had found out about the organization. The news had stunned the blond into silence as he digested the information he just been given. Right now, both of them were sitting on the silver haired man's bed, Kakashi waiting for the young man to finish registering the info in his mind. Slowly Naruto came back to his senses and turned his head to the older man, looking at him with a grave face.

"So that means that the threat is in fact even bigger than we thought." The blond said, a frown on his face, as he didn't like that situation at all.

"Yes." The silver haired man replied in a low voice.

The young man cursed under his breath, as he looked at the ground his mind preoccupied by this turn of events. This news had hit them both like a staggering blow. They had never expected that it would become an international issue. Kakashi had of course already sent a message back to Konoha to inform them of the situation and wait for maybe some further instructions or orders. Supporting his upper body with his hands on the mattress, the jonin looked at the ceiling for a few minutes before turning his head to Naruto as the young man sitting next to him told him something.

"You know, the girls at the club find you very handsome." The blond said with a small smirk.

"Is that so?" the older man asked in a non-interested manner as he stood up and went to take a glass of water.

"Yeah." The young man replied, his smirk getting wider as he looked at the jonin, "They also went on about how you had a really hot ass."

At this, the silver haired man choked on his water, spitting some of it out of his mouth involuntarily as he coughed uncontrollably. This reaction made Naruto's smirk bloom into a full grin as he enjoyed the embarrassment written all over Kakashi's face, as his face was suspiciously red.

"But I have to admit that you do look really sexy in these yakuza clothes." The blond commented, as his eyes raked the older man's body that was clad all in black with dress pants that were snug around his thighs and hips, as well as a dress shirt and jacket.

Even the bandana hiding his face was black.

"By the way why do you wear a sword in your back now?" the young man asked as he had wanted to ask this question for quite some time now, "I didn't know you could use one."

"Well I do. I thought that it would go well with my character." The jonin replied, his cheeks still warm, as the feeling of embarrassment hadn't completely subdued yet, "I normally don't use them because I don't really feel comfortable with it. I am more at ease with ninjutsu and taijutsu."

"Well I think it suits you well." Naruto said, "It makes you look…dangerous. And with the scowl you have taken to wear almost all the time, I think that even if we don't know you we don't want to mess with you."

"Well thanks for the compliment. I was aiming for that look." Kakashi replied with a slight smirk, before he added with a witty and teasing wink, "I have to say that you are quite stunning yourself with those provocative clothes."

"Tch." The blond said as he turned his head away from the silver haired man.

"What?" the older man asked a bit taken aback by the young man's reaction to what he thought would be compliment.

"I knew it. All grown ups are weak against this technique." Naruto mumbled grudgingly with a pout on his face.

"Huh?" the poor jonin said, as he didn't understand what was happening.

"I'm sure you prefer Koiko over me." The blond grumbled sullenly.

Finally understanding what was upsetting the young man, Kakashi didn't resist in taking the other in his arms, his face cracking a fond smile, a chuckle shaking slightly his body.

"I prefer the real you a thousand times more than the bimbo you have created." He told him as he held him close, burying his face into the blond mop of hair and inhaling deeply the sweet scent of the young man.

Naruto snorted at this, clearly not believing his boyfriend's words. With a sigh, Kakashi decided that it was time for praising the young man's aptitudes, as he hoped that that would work soothing the blond if he told him how proud he was of the progress he had made.

"You have become quite strong. I am really impressed of the man you have become. You've accomplished so many things in such a short time. You have been so brave up until now in this undercover mission." the older man told him softly next to his ear, "I don't know if I would be able to stand being a hostess and being treated like I'm some piece of meat. You're quite amazing for standing that. I can't wait to see what you are going to do when you become hokage. I am really proud of you."

As his ego was being flattered, the stubborn young man relaxed reluctantly as he had a hard time staying angry with someone saying such nice things to him.

"You are lucky I'm weak at compliments." The blond mumbled weakly as he leaned against the silver haired man.

"Maybe but I mean every word I said. You have become an amazing shinobi without never diverting from your ninja way." The jonin replied, kissing the blonde's temple gently, before adding with a nostalgic sigh, "Do you remember of the day, in front of Zabuza's grave, when you said you would follow your own ninja way?"

_Flashback_

Team 7 was standing in front of the two graves where Zabuza and Haku were now resting. Fresh flowers and offerings had been put there as well. The sun was setting on the small fishing village of the Land of Waves. It had been two weeks after the battle on the bridge and the construction of said bridge was finally over. They had decided to come pay their respects to their former enemies whom they had greatly respected in the end.

"…But… Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura called her sensei as she wanted to say something, her eyes fixed on the graves with a pensive look on her face.

"Hm?" Kakashi replied to show that he was listening.

"Were these two correct about ninjas?" she asked.

"A shinobi isn't supposed to pursue his own goals…" the jonin began to recite what every ninja on the planet knew by heart, whether they were shinobis or kunoichis, "Becoming the country's tool is the most important thing… That's the same for the village of Konoha…"

"Is that really what it means to become a true ninja…?" Naruto asked with a frown, "You know what? I don't like it!"

"You believe that too?" Sasuke asked as he glanced at the silver haired man.

"Well… Every ninja has to live while dealing with that issue…" the older man said, before adding in a whisper, "Just like Zabuza…and that boy…"

"Ok, I just decided!" the blond declared with a determined frown, "I going to be a ninja in my own way!"

At hearing this, Kakashi's eyes widened for a few seconds before a happy and proud smile broke on his face.

_End of flashback_

"In a way I think it's thanks to him and that boy that you've become who you are now." The silver haired man added with a smile.

"Yeah. But what I also remember vividly were the words Zabuza had said on the bridge." Naruto replied with a smile that was half happy half sad, as he also remembered about Haku and how these two had died without even having admitted their feelings to each other.

_"Never let go of the person who is important to you. Accept your feelings without shame. If you embrace them you'll experience the happiness that could have been mine had I not been so stupid."_

Yes, Kakashi remembered those words like it was yesterday. At the time, he had been too blinded by fear of the reality to understand those words. But it was when he had finally admitted to himself that he loved the blond, that those words that had been pronounced months ago had finally made sense.

"Yeah… I guess we were pretty stupid at that time for not having followed his advice immediately…" the silver haired man said with a small smile.

"YOU were stupid!" the blond replied with a smirk, "I had already accepted my feelings for you at that time."

"Really?" the jonin said surprised, "then why did you wait so long after to confess?"

"Because I did not feel ready to tell you. I was afraid of rejection and for a good reason." The young told him with a pointed look, which made the older man squirm uncomfortably under it.

"Hum… So how is it going at the club? Were your genjutsu lessons useful?" Kakashi asked as he cleared his throat, trying in a totally unsubtle way to change subjects.

"It's going well. I've actually had to use the illusionary technique only once." The young man shrugged before adding with disgusted face, "Some perverted old man asked for an extra with me and so I had to go to the hotel with him. He must haven't noticed anything wrong 'cause he looked quite pleased afterward. That's quite amazing how much talkative they are after sex. You would think that they would just be done and fall a sleep. But it's like they feel the need to brag a bit more in case they weren't good in bed."

"Well that's good." The jonin said with a smile though his eyes twitched a little at the idea of someone touching his blond, images of those pigs touching and holding his boyfriend making him see red, "It's getting late. Maybe we should both go to sleep to be on top form."

"Is that an invitation for me to sleep with you?" the blond asked slyly before yelping when his wrist was grabbed and he was pulled into the bed, under the covers, Kakashi's strong arms pinning him against his chest.

"Goodnight" was the curt reply of the older man, who apparently was not in the mood for any teasing.

Smirking at the jealous tone he had heard in the other man's voice, Naruto snuggled further into the warmth of the silver haired man and slowly let sleep claim him.

Three weeks later, three representatives from the Wind country organization, called Ushio, Rintaro and Zenjiro, arrived. One of them was in his early forties, another one was around Kakashi's age, and the last one didn't look to be more than 20 years old. They were received with all the honors reserved to business partners, having sake with the other organization's superiors and men before talking business.

"We think that for the smooth progress of our two organizations and as a sign of mutual trust, we should both have men of our organizations go to the other's." Ushio told them, not wasting anytime to say what the beliefs of his organization were.

"So if I understand you," the oyabun said, with a pensive look on his face, "that would mean that I would send some of my men to the Wind country to work with you while you send yourself some men to the Fire country is that correct?"

"Yes." The other nodded in agreement, before adding in reassurance, "Of course they would still report to you. Let's just say that we think it would be a gesture that would strengthen the bonds between our two organizations."

"Hm… What do you think Goshi?" the oyabun asked one of his senior advisors.

"Sounds fair enough." The man replied, his hard stare looking at the three members of the Wind organization.

"I think so too. But I have some doubts concerning the site of their organization." The older man said, with a slight preoccupied frown on his face, "Isn't your organization based in the hidden village of Suna?"

"We believe in the saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Rintaro replied with a sly smirk, which made a few men in the room snicker.

"Very well. In that case," The oyabun said, turning to Goshi, "I'm assigning you to go there with your team. I leave the choice of whom exactly you take with you. Make the organization proud."

"Ossu!" the senior advisor replied, bowing respectfully to his boss.

Next to him, Kakashi was registering everything in. From tomorrow on, he would live in Sunagakure, being able to see and gather proof of this whole traffic network. He felt both excited at the prospect of being close to reveal their illegal action and nervous concerning Naruto. Would the blonde be one of the girls that would be taken to the Land of Wind or would she be able to stay back and continue gathering information on this side?

They discussed for a few more hours of other things such as negotiating the number of girls they would take back with them. When they were done, the oyabun rose from his seat, inviting the others to do the same.

"Now gentlemen, after all these tiring business discussions, why don't we go relax ourselves and talk about more frivolous things?" the man proposed with his usual paternal smile, "We have plenty of drinks and we have privatized the club just for you tonight. The girls are waiting for us. I hope you will appreciate the beauties that we have in there."

Everyone then moved to the main room of the club where the hostesses were. Champagne and sake then began to flow like water at the tables, the men enjoying themselves as they drank and laughed with each other, beauties sitting on their laps or next to them. An atmosphere of frivolity hung in the air like a sweet intoxicating perfume. But Kakashi was not taking part in it. Merely putting on a lighter face to pretend the effects of alcohol and of the lewd atmosphere had affected him, he looked at the crowd of men enjoying themselves. Of course he couldn't be with Naruto, as he knew that it was the blonde's chance to get some more information. Sitting at the bar, he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid much longer the tiresome task to socialize. As expected, a few minutes later some of the men in the same team as Kakashi hailed him from a booth where the members of the partner organization were as well.

"Oi Obito! Come here and have fun with us!" one of them yelled at him sounding already quite inebriated.

With a sigh, the undercover jonin rose from his seat and made his way to the booth where the men were. It was then that he realized who exactly was sitting in this booth. As he had seen there were the members from the organization in Sunagakure, but what he had not seen was that Naruto was the escort of one of them. A little put out by this, at having to sit in this booth and watch Naruto acting flirty and seducing, he sat down without saying anything. He knew it didn't mean anything but it was still hard to watch. He guessed that he would have to bear with it and repeat to himself over and over in his head that it was Naruto's job. Then a hostess went to sit next to him, pressing herself against his side in a slightly provocative manner.

"Do you mind if I keep you company Nakajima-san?" she asked in a sweet seductive voice.

"Hahaha Obito! You're a real ladies man!" one of the men exclaimed with a loud laugh as he took a swig out of his drink.

"Obito Nakajima." Ushio said, as he looked at the silver haired with a contemplative expression on his face, "I heard that you were in the group of men that will come back with us in five days."

Ushio was actually the one who had Naruto as his hostess, the blonde sitting next to him but with her arms around his bicep.

"Goshi-san told me a little bit about you." The other continued, as he motioned for Naruto to lit his cigarette, "He said you were very professional and trustworthy."

"Nakajima-san is really good at his job." The hostess at Kakashi's side, whose name was actually Etsuko said in a flattering tone, as she pressed further against the silver haired man.

"Did we ask for your opinion?" the yakuza from Suna growled, annoyance clear in his voice as his eyes narrowed on the poor hostess.

"N-no. I'm sorry." The woman lowered her head to look at the ground in submission, keeping now her mouth shut.

"But still," the man said, as if nothing had happened, as he put an arm around Naruto's waist and pulling her closer to him, forcing her to half sit on his lap, a hand caressing her calf, slowly going up to her thighs, "I have to admit that you have some real beauties in this club."

The undercover jonin's blood was now boiling in restrained anger as he watched that filthy man groping Naruto.

"Haha! Everyone falls for Koiko's charms!" one of the other men present in the booth replied with a drunken grin, "Obito was the first one to do so! He even had the chance to get Koiko before everyone else!"

"Oh. Is that so?" Ushio said with a smirk as he looked at Kakashi, his hand still on her thighs, "Well I would have loved to be the first of this doll."

At saying this, he gave a firm squeeze to the blonde's behind, making Kakashi see red. If it hadn't been for Naruto pleading eyes, begging him silently to calm down and not do anything reckless, he would have stood up and ripped that man to shreds. Struggling to keep the strong killing intent he felt right now hidden, the silver haired man had to breathe consciously for a few seconds before he was calm enough to put his fake cheery face on, giving a fake amused smile to the man in front of him.

The rest of the evening went on without a hitch, people enjoying themselves. As the men were getting drunker by the minute, Kakashi as well as Naruto managed to gather a bit more information from them. When most of the men began to take their leave with an hostess for the night, Kakashi decided that it was time for him to leave as well.

"Do you want me to come with you Nakajima-san." The hostess named Etsuko proposed in her alluring voice, his eyelashes flapping at him in lecherous manner.

"That would have been with great pleasure but I feel I am too drunk to be able to do anything else tonight other than falling unconscious on my bed." The silver haired man replied in a pleasant voice, giving her an apologetic smile as he stood up began to leave with a slight wobble in his step for good measure.

'Contrary to him.' He thought darkly as he turned his head one more time to look at Naruto and Ushio, the latter looking still quite fresh and ready for anything, as he was apparently now bored of drinking and was now more interested into fondling the blonde's body in a bolder manner and with more insistence.

Glaring internally at the yakuza, the undercover jonin pushed back his need to kill the man deep in his mind and left the club without another word, deciding that it was time for him to get back to his room and sleep.

Four days later, in the evening, Naruto and Kakashi were at the jonin's hotel room just hanging with each other. Tonight was the silver haired man's last night in this town before he left tomorrow for Sunagakure and they wanted to spend as much time as possible with each other as they didn't know how long they would be away from each other. Quite extraordinarily, the blond had managed to get the night off of one of the busiest day of the year for the hostess bar.

Tonight was Valentine's Day. Fortunately for the two men, since Valentine's Day was one of the most profitable days for the organization, the farewell party that was held for the men who were going to leave for Sunagakure had happened last night. Kakashi didn't know how the young man had managed to be allowed to have this night off but he was really glad he had been able to.

Right now they were laying next to each other on the older man's bed, the silver haired man holding the blond in his arms, gently stroking his hair while the other had his head resting on his chest, listening to the older man's heart beat.

"I can't believe you are leaving tomorrow." The blond suddenly said, breaking the peaceful silence.

"I know. But I promise that I'll make sure to send you a letter everyday okay?" the jonin told him, still petting the blonde's hair.

"Hmm." The young man agreed, "You better keep that promise."

Four days before, as soon as Kakashi had learned that he would leave for Suna, he had sent a message to Tsunade-sama, reporting the situation to her. He had received a response rather quickly as the female hokage told him that she had contacted Gaara and that the Kazekage had given his full support to Konoha and would help Kakashi in any way they could. Then the Godaime told him that he was to meet with Gaara and some of the Sand advisors as soon as he was in Suna to see what they could do.

"You know," Naruto began to say, pulling the jonin out of his thoughts as he drew meaningless patterns with his fingers on the man's stomach, adding in a tempting voice, "Since today is Valentine's Day, maybe we could have our own little celebration don't you think?"

At this the older man's heart beat sped up, which Naruto heard though he couldn't tell if it was from his proposition or the fact that his fingers were really near his groin area or maybe both.

"What would you want to do?" Kakashi asked in a tone that was meant to be light but you could hear a wary tinge in it.

"We could have dinner and a few drinks." The blond proposed, looking up at the silver haired man.

At this the other man's body visibly relaxed as he let out a sigh like he had been holding his breathe.

"If you want. I can go buy some food and drinks." The jonin said with a smile.

"That would be really nice." The young man replied with a bright smile.

Then the silver haired man stood up and put on a black wool coat, before going next to the bed where Naruto was still lying on.

"I won't be long. Stay in bed and relax until I'm back." He told the young man, kissing him tenderly before leaving the room.

Some time later, Naruto seemed to have dozed off as he was awakened by the salivating smell of garlic bread and what seemed to be alfredo spinach pasta and slightly golden brown cooked chicken's breast pieces. At the succulent smell, the blonde's stomach growled loudly in excitement at the prospect of eating the delicious food.

"It smells so good!" the young man exclaimed, drool coming out of the corner of his mouth.

"I have bought strawberries for dessert I hope it's alright they didn't have anything else." Kakashi said, looking in amusement at the blond who obviously had a hard time restraining himself from jumping on the food, while he was setting the table.

"I love strawberries!" the young man replied with a big grin as he sat at the table.

They then began to eat, enjoying the good food with some wine the jonin had also bought. They spoke of everything and anything while eating their, the mood being really good. When they were done eating, they decided to go eat the strawberries on the bed while watching a movie that passed on the TV that was in the room, though it was more Naruto than Kakashi that would eat them. As he was watching the movie Naruto bit into one of the juicy red fruits, reveling in the sweet and yet also acid taste of it. Then suddenly, he had an idea. Smiling mischievously, the blond turned around a bit in the silver haired man's arms to face him.

"Those strawberries are incredible you should taste one." The young man told the older man, presenting one of the fruits in front of his lips.

But before the jonin could bite into the fruit, Naruto took the strawberry away and placed it between his teeth, giving the other man an impish smile. Smirking at the playful sexy blond, Kakashi leant down and bite into the piece of the fruit that was coming out of the young man's mouth, before taking the blonde's lips into a hungry kiss, tasting the fruit on the other's tongue as well as his own taste, which made a wonderful cocktail that sent him into a frenzy of tasting every inch of Naruto's mouth. At this spark of passion, Naruto quickly discarded his bowl of strawberries aside and wrapped his arms around the older man's neck, letting out a keen moan full of desire and pressing his body flushed against the other's. The movie completely forgotten by now, the blond was rolled on his back, the body of the silver haired man pinning him to the mattress. Neither wanted the kiss to stop, only separating from each other long enough to take some air in. When they once again separated for air, Kakashi attached his mouth to the blonde's neck, beginning to suck on it while alternating with kisses. Then the silver haired seemed to suddenly realize what was exactly happening when the blonde's hands began to wander down south, where he found the jonin's backside, which he began to massage through the pants.

"Naruto," the jonin said in a voice that he wanted steady but sounded more like a long moan, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I've never wanted something that much before now." Naruto replied, looking intensely at the jonin, showing him all the passion and lust that there was in his eyes.

At this moment, the silver haired man found the sight the young man completely irresistible. With those luscious lips swollen by the forceful kiss and his disheveled appearance, the blond looked more adorable than ever.

"If we start, I'm not sure I will be able to stop." Kakashi warned him.

"I won't say stop." The blond told him in determination.

"I don't want to hurt you." The silver haired man said, in a slight nervous voice.

"I trust you." The young man replied, giving him a sweet kiss on the lips to reassure him, looking at him with eyes full of trust.

Sighing in surrender, the jonin pulled the blonde's head to his, kissing him in a slower pace than before, less hurried, transferring all the love he had for him into this kiss. When the kiss ended, Kakashi looked at Naruto in the eyes, one of his hands caressing gently the young man's chest before sliding to his hips, then to his thighs, and down to the kneecap.

"I love you." He told him in a voice full of emotion.

"Make love to me." The blond said in a whisper, conveying through his voice all the need and lust he felt right now, and his eyes shining with love before he dived in for another kiss from the silver haired man.

(…)

They were both laying on their back, slowly coming back down to earth, their breathing becoming normal once again. When they finally came back to their senses, Naruto snuggled up to Kakashi, letting out a happy sigh, purring slightly with a content expression on his face. Taking him in his arms and bringing him closer to him, the silver haired man held the young man tightly against him, the blonde head tucked under his chin as they began to slowly drift off to sleep.

"Love you Kashi." Naruto whispered in a low sleepy voice before falling into dreamland.

The jonin looked down at the sleeping young man that was in his arms, never wanting to let go. The blond was his and he felt very lucky to have him in his life, his own personal sunshine.

"I love you too Naruto." The older man whispered back tenderly.

Kissing the top of the head of his beautiful angel, Kakashi let himself fall asleep as well, a smile on his face.

The next day, the silver haired man woke up early and prepared himself to leave for Sunagakure. Not having the heart to wake Naruto up, as the young man was still sleeping, and thinking that it would be easier for him to leave this way, the jonin wrote a message on a piece of paper and let it on the pillow next to the blonde's head. After that he left without a sound, leaving behind him his young sleeping lover.

Later, Naruto woke up feeling cold. Confused as to why he was cold, he suddenly realized that Kakashi was not here anymore. Looking frantically around in hope to see his older lover, his eyes fell on a piece of paper he hadn't noticed before. He took the piece of paper and began to read the message that was written on it, a smile spreading on his face at the words written on it.

_Hey love,_

_I'm sorry I didn't wake you before leaving but it would have been too hard for me to leave if you had been awake. You will be in my every thought as long as I'm away from you. I will never stop thinking of you._

_I'm going to miss you so much. The only thing that gives me courage is the thought that we will send letters to each other._

_I'll tell Gaara you said hi._

_I love you my little angel._

_Kakashi_

_TBC_

**A few days after posting the previous chapter, I realized that it had been exactly one year since I started this story. It amazes me how time flies by so fast...and I'm quite glad that even after one year of working on this story I'm still having as much fun writing it as I had when I first started it. ^^**

**I hope you liked this chapter. Tell me what you thought about it, and as always, thank you for the lovely reviews and the support this story is getting. As one of my favorite Youtuber would say: Love yer faces!**

**See ya!**

**PS: I'll soon post the lemon that goes with this chapter.**


	22. Organizaton Infiltration Part 1,5

"_Make love to me." The blond said in a whisper, conveying through his voice all the need and lust he felt right now, and his eyes shining with love before he dived in for another kiss from the silver haired man._

The jonin gently cupped the cheek of the young man as they kissed, their lips moving in sync in a sensual dance. Then the older man began trailing kisses down Naruto's jaw line, placing butterfly kisses on his throat and collarbone, as he slowly began to roll up the blonde's T shirt to caress the taut tanned skin of his stomach. Wanting more contact, the young man quickly pulled his top off before beginning to unbutton feverishly Kakashi's shirt. Seeing the impatience mixed with nervousness of the young man, the silver haired man put a hand on the blonde's ones, making him stop what he was doing.

"No need to rush." He told him in a soothing tone, kissing the other's temple lovingly, "We have the whole night to ourselves and I am going nowhere."

Sitting up, making him straddle the young man who was lying on the bed, the older man began to unbutton his shirt in a quick and effective manner. Naruto looked at him spellbound as his shirt was sliding off his chest, revealing a pale but quite muscled torso. Though he looked quite lanky with his clothes on, he was rather muscular as you could see the muscles rolling under the taut skin at every movement the man did. He was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Wanting to touch the man badly, the blond pulled Kakashi back to him, making their bare chest come in contact, looking at him through lust glazed blue eyes at which the other man shuddered in arousal. A current of electricity went through them the moment their skin touched making them both sigh in bliss at the feel of the other's skin. The jonin began once again to trail kiss down Naruto's throat before brushing his lips to the blonde's chest where he attached his mouth to one of his nipples, sucking on it gently, sometimes nipping at it before licking it in a soothing manner. The young man arched his chest up under the ministrations that his soon-to-be-lover was giving him. Lifting his hips a bit, the young man began to grind against the other man, causing both of them to gasp and grind their groin harder against each other while Kakashi still suckled on the blonde's nipples like an hungry infant, alternating between the two while one of his hand took care of the other.

But soon it wasn't enough anymore. Naruto wanted more.

"Hmm Kashi. Need…pants off. Want more!" he moaned in an almost whiny voice.

Agreeing wholeheartedly with the young man's request, Kakashi took off the blonde's pants off before standing to take his own pants off as well. Then he went back on top of the blond, who had let out a slight whimper at the loss of contact with the man. But when the silver haired man's body finally recovered his once again, the young man along with the jonin let out a moan as their naked body touched each other, setting their skin on fire as arousal raced through them in waves. Feeling the older man's arousal against his turned Naruto on even more as he once again attached his arms around his neck and began to grind against him, their member rubbing against one another. His eyes were closed in bliss and his head was thrown back in the pillows as he let out sighs of pleasure. He was feeling the pressure in his groin beginning to build up when Kakashi grabbed his hips to stop them from moving anymore, making him whine in frustration.

"Be patient love." Kakashi told him softly, kissing the blond in apology for having stopped his movements.

The silver haired man went down on the blonde's body until he was facing the strained shaft of his young lover. Gently, he took the tip in his mouth, sucking softly on the red angry head, his tongue poking and playing with the slit at the top of it. The young man's moans began to amplify in noise and number as he bucked his hips wildly, trying to get more of this hot and wet mouth that was now fully enclosing his cock. Then Naruto felt something wet probe at his entrance, and before he could dwell more on it he let out a small gasp of surprise as he felt one of Kakashi's fingers breach the ring of muscles of his anus, making his eyes go wide for a minute. The silver haired man let go of the blonde's shaft and looked at him. With his mouth slightly opened, the small blush of arousal on his cheeks and his glazed over in pleasure and lust, the young man looked positively sinful. He was so beautiful spread like this in all his naked beauty. Yet, he also looked so fragile right now...

"I have to prepare you so that it doesn't hurt." He said as he caressed the young man's sides reassuringly, "Relax as much as you can so that I can stretch you properly okay?"

The young man gave a stiff nod in response, breathing in and out deeply to calm himself and relax, as he tried to get accustomed to the new and odd feeling of having something in him. Then the older man began to move his fingers in and out of the blond, creating a friction against his anus' walls that gave him goose bumps all over the skin his body. After a moment, he added a second finger and began scissoring them, gently stretching the young man's entrance. Then suddenly, he hooked his finger slightly, which made Naruto moan loudly as something deep within him had been touched, sending his body a shock of pleasure that made him see stars for a moment. Kakashi began then to massage that sweet spot over and over, making the young man go crazy at so much pleasure. He didn't even notice when the jonin added a third finger and stretched him further more, making sure he was loose enough.

Taking his fingers out of Naruto, the silver haired man then began to look around for lubricant. Cursing internally for not having any proper lubricant, especially for Naruto's first time, Kakashi grabbed a bottle of lotion that had been on his nightstand. Pouring a generous amount of it on his pulsing member, he then positioned himself between the young man's spread legs and aligned his cock with his quivering entrance. He then captured the blonde's lips with his own in a searing kiss as he began to slowly enter the young man's virgin body, looking out for any sign of discomfort from Naruto. When he was finally up to the hilt inside the blond, Kakashi waited a few seconds to let him get accustomed to his size. Then the blond began to squirm under him silently, sign that he was ready. The jonin then began a slow in and out movement, just reveling in the feeling of that delicious tight heat that surrounded his shaft. Soon he found the prostate of the young man and began to brush it with every thrust.

"Harder Kashi. Nghh faster! " Naruto moaned loudly, breaking the kiss between him and his lover as he almost cried out his need for a more energetic pace.

Looking in slight amusement but mainly in lust at the greedy demand of his partner, Kakashi began to thrust harder and faster in his lover, earning him a series of beautiful moans and groans from the blond as he plundered the bundle of nerves deep inside him. Soon, as he felt himself near the edge, he grabbed the leaking member of the young man and began to stroke him in rhythm with his thrusts. Naruto then let out cries and moans of pure bliss as he felt himself near explosion at the feeling of his lover ramming into him in wild abandon, his thrust becoming more and more erratic, while one of his large hands rubbed his shaft, bringing him to completion. In one last cry, in which he moaned Kakashi's name, Naruto came in a blinding orgasm, his vision going white for a moment. His canal tightening as he came brought also Kakashi to completion, as he threw his head back ecstasy and let out a long moan as he climaxed deep inside the young man. Almost collapsing on the blond, the jonin retrieved himself from inside the blond and rolled over next to him.

_They were both laying on their back, slowly coming back down to earth, their breathing becoming normal once again. When they finally came back to their senses, Naruto snuggled up to Kakashi, letting out a happy sigh, purring slightly with a content expression on his face. Taking him in his arms and bringing him closer to him, the silver haired man held the young man tightly against, the blonde head tucked under his chin as they began to drift off to sleep._

"_Love you Kashi." Naruto whispered in a low sleepy voice before falling into dreamland._

_The jonin looked down at the sleeping young man that was in his arms, never wanting to let go. The blond was his and he felt very lucky to have him in his life, his own personal sunshine. _

"_I love you too Naruto." The older man whispered back tenderly._

_Kissing the top of the head of his beautiful angel, Kakashi let himself fall asleep as well, a smile on his face._

**I hope you've liked this little lemon. ;) Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of it.**


	23. Organization Infiltration Part 2

**Today ladies and gentlemen, I present you a chapter where I have decided that I would be mean to my characters. I know my nastiness is unfounded and I don't even have the excuse of having a crappy life right now for it (except for yesterday...it was a real nightmare... but let's not talk about that!).**

** This is in this spirit that I'm warning you that this chapter contains**** not detailed torture, but still torture.**

**Enjoy!**

Kakashi let out a mental sigh as he saw that they were approaching from Suna. Since they had left Kawabata, he had been wondering how they would enter the hidden village. After all they couldn't possibly just walk into it without being controlled by guards, especially with the kind of 'goods' they had. He soon got his answer as a Suna guard looking to be in his mid-twenties, who was apparently the only one guarding the village's entrance, went to meet them.

"Welcome back Ushio-san. Oyabun has been waiting for your return with impatience." The young man who looked to be a rather new recruit said, bowing very low in front of them.

"Hello Masakatsu." Ushio said, barely acknowledging the other's presence, "I see you've been promoted chunin."

"Hai!" Masakatsu replied proudly, "I have been assigned to guard the gate."

"Hmm well as you can see I'm bringing back allies from the Fire's organization as well as some new merchandize for our club." The older man said as he nodded toward Goshi, Kakashi and the others to emphasize his words.

The chunin looked at the group of men with genuine curiosity until his gaze settled of the undercover jonin, a frown appearing on his face.

"Have we met somewhere before?" he asked, looking at the silver haired man with a deep thinking expression on his face as he seemed to try remember where he could have seen this man who looked so familiar to him.

"I don't think we have." Kakashi replied with a cold uncaring voice as if he was already bored of this discussion.

"Hum maybe yeah… I'm sorry. I must have confused you with someone else." The chunin apologized though he looked at the masked man with an indecisive look on his face, as he seemed to doubt the silver haired man's reply.

"Alright enough chit-chat!" Ushio said, beginning to walk once again and ordering the men with a single gaze to do the same, "Let's go to the headquarters before we show you where you'll stay."

With that said, they went to the headquarters to meet the Suna organization's oyabun and have a small reunion to discuss different matters. Later that day, when Kakashi was finally shown to the hotel room he would stay in, the jonin waited just a few minutes before leaving the room quickly. Unfortunately, as soon as he was out of his chamber, the silver haired man met his superior, who looked at him quizzically.

"Where are you going Obito?" Goshi asked curious.

"I wanted to walk around and familiarize myself with the village boss." Kakashi told him, his hands in his pockets in an aloof manner.

"That's good. But be careful, we aren't supposed to be there, so make yourself discreet." The older man told him, his face as strict as ever.

"Hai." the jonin replied with a respectful bow before beginning to walk away.

"Wait!" his superior stopped him in his steps suddenly, making his heart pound more quickly as he feared the other man was suspecting something, "I would like you to do something for me."

"What is it Goshi-san?" the silver haired man asked as he turned around to look at his superior.

"I need you to go pick a package up for me that is kept in a puppet shop on the northern part of the village called Akabuki." The man told him.

"I will go fetch it for you sir." Kakashi replied with another respectful bow.

With that said, he began to walk away once again, leaving his superior behind him. As soon as he was out of sight from the older man, the undercover jonin rushed into an empty room where he produced a shadow clone. He watched his shadow clone give him a slight nod of understanding about what he had to do, before he went his own way, heading to the village's main gate. When he arrived there, he concealed his chakra and went to hide in one of the natural excavations carved into the stone wall surrounding the village, where he could clearly see the chunin called Masakatsu he had met just a few hours before. Crouching in his spot, hidden by the natural shadow of the stone that was made by the sun, Kakashi watched the chunin closely, waiting patiently for the man's shift to end. Finally, after a few hours of diligent surveillance, the silver haired man saw another shinobi arrive to take over the chunin's post. Silently, always hidden in the shadows, the jonin followed Masakatsu as he walked into a busy alley that leaded to what he assumed to be a side entrance of the village for shinobis in duty to guard the main entrance. He waited that the young man had finished giving his report to the Suna shinobi office, and kept following him like a predator would stalk his prey, waiting for the most opportune time to catch him. This chance presented itself when he saw the chunin turn into a deserted backstreet. Instantly, he pounced on him and knocked him unconscious before tying him up tightly with a rope.

'Well, time to meet with the Kazekage.' Kakashi thought as he quickly did a series of hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground, summoning Pakkun in a puff of smoke.

"Hello Kakashi. What can I do for you today?" the ninken asked as he quickly glanced at the tied unconscious form at the jonin's feet.

"I need you to go deliver a message for me to the Kazekage's office building and tell Gaara that I need to have an audience with him immediately." The silver haired told him before adding as he poked his foot into the unconscious man, "And tell him that I also have a package for him that I'm sure will interest him greatly."

"Got it." The pug replied with a smirk before taking off toward the spherical structure where the young Kazekage was residing.

Making sure that no one could see him or his 'package', Kakashi sat down on an overturned box that laid on the side of the alleyway, then took out his Icha Icha and began to read it while waiting for Pakkun, making sure from time to time that the tied up chunin was still unconscious. After some time the ninken returned, telling the jonin that the Kazekage was waiting for him in his office.

"There will be someone waiting for you on the West side of the building to get you inside it without being conspicuous." The pug told the man in front of him who gave him a nod to show he understood.

"Good job. Thank you Pakkun." The silver haired man said with a small smile to show his gratitude.

"Be safe boss." Pakkun replied before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The jonin then picked up his 'package' and began to cautiously make his way to the Kazekage's office. Once he had arrived, he met none other than Kankuro, Gaara's older brother, who was the one to lead him to the Kazekage's office. Gaara was seated at his desk when the jonin entered the room, looking over some files. When the red haired young man lifted his head and looked at him, Kakashi bowed respectfully as a greeting before putting down the tied up chunin he had been carrying up until now.

"This is the package your message talked about." The young Kazekage said not asking for a confirmation, as it was more an observation.

"Yes." The jonin replied nonetheless, adding in a serious voice, "The organization based in this village apparently employs shinobis to be able to conduct their business without fear of having trouble with the inner village's forces."

"So that means that there is corruption in our shinobi forces. I don't like this." Kankuro commented with a frown, looking at his younger brother and leader as he talked, "We can't let this go on any further. If words came out about this, we would be discredited in front of the other countries and their hidden villages."

"Though I understand your feelings, I think we need to proceed carefully if we don't want to lose maybe the only opportunity we have to uncover these organizations." The silver haired man told the puppet master before nodding at the still unconscious form of the chunin, "This man should be interrogated to know what he knows and if he could maybe give us the names of the other shinobis who also work for the organization."

"I agree with Kakashi." Gaara replied in his low calm voice, "Kankuro, I want you to put your most trusted men on this case and make them interrogate this man to learn what he exactly knows."

"Alright." The puppet master agreed leaving the room to gather a team, taking the unconscious man with him.

When his older brother had left, the young Kazekage turned his eyes once again to the jonin, who resisted the urge to fidget under the young man's gaze as if he was the child in the room.

"Please have a seat." the red haired told the older man.

Kakashi went to sit in the seat in front of the Kazekage's desk, sitting with his back straight against the back of the chair, behaving in a proper military manner as he was after all in front of the leader of the hidden village of Suna. Gaara looked at the jonin with unreadable eyes for a few seconds, making the silver haired slightly nervous as he saw that it was still as hard as ever to see what the young red haired man was thinking. Then, after a few seconds of silence during which the young Kazekage seemed to observe him, Gaara opened his mouth once again to speak.

"How is Naruto doing?" he asked, making the silver haired man smile lightly at the friendly attempt from the young man to make him feel more at ease.

"He is doing well." Kakashi replied, "He is actually undercover as a hostess in the club where the organization of the Fire country is."

"A hostess?" the young Kazekage repeated more than asked as his face got a puzzled expression for a short moment.

"He used a technique that he has invented to turn himself into a woman. He calls it the Sexy no jutsu." The jonin explained with an amused smile.

"I see." The young red haired man said in a nonplussed tone before adding in a thoughtful expression, "I never thought he would do something like this."

"Though I am a bit concerned about this plan…" he added in an afterthought, his brows creasing slightly in sign of worry, "Are you sure it was wise to let him all alone or even go with this idea at all?"

"Well it's not like he consulted me before acting." The silver haired man replied, scowling at himself before adding in a fierce voice, a slight sadistic smirk appearing on his face, "But there is no need to worry. I trained Naruto in genjutsu so that he can handle his clients. Moreover he got much stronger since the last time you saw him. He won't be brought down easily. I have faith in him."

"Hm. I guess we have no choice but putting our trust in him as well." Gaara said linking his fingers together in front of him in a serious and deep thinking expression, "Now, about the organization you have infiltrated, I want you to tell me more about it."

Kakashi then began to tell the young Kazekage everything he had discovered about the organization and its activities in great details. The red haired listened to him intently until the end without interrupting once, his only reaction to the flow of information was one eyebrow raised when the silver haired man told him about what was happening under his very nose in Sunagakure.

"The situation is quite problematic." Gaara commented when the jonin was finished talking, "How much longer do you think you'll need to have gathered enough proofs?"

"I don't know. If they trust me as much as they did back at the fire country," the silver haired man said, "I think I might have enough information about them to soon be able to proceed to their dismantlement without having any trouble with the other countries who are unknowingly concerned by it."

"When that time comes, we will provide you with all the support we have. I would like you to keep me informed of your progress." The young Kazekage said in his soft but slightly deep voice, his face grave, "Just send me one of your ninken whenever you can come here."

"Thank you." The older man bowed his head respectfully, "I will tell you whenever something new has happened."

With that said Kakashi stood up.

"With your permission I think I should leave as I think the others might get suspicious if I am away too long." He said.

"Alright." The red haired agreed, standing up as well, "Good luck Kakashi. Be vigilant."

"Thank you Kazekage-sama." The jonin said bowing once again before turning around to leave, but then stopped and turned around to look at Gaara, telling him with a warm smile, "By the way, I almost forgot but Naruto told me to say 'hi' to you on his behalf."

The young Kazekage's face took on a surprised expression before softening in what looked to be happiness.

"Thank you." He replied softly, "Give him my regards as well when you will write to him."

Nodding in understanding, the silver haired man took his leave and headed back to the hotel he was staying in.

When he arrived, the whole hotel, which was completely occupied by the Yakuzas, was in an uproar. He was not even inside it yet but he could hear people walking hurriedly everywhere and some hushed and antsy conversations going on. Silently, he made his way to the side of the hotel where he knew his room was and climbed it so that nobody would see him go inside his room. An hour before, while he had been in Gaara's office, he had felt a rush of information come into him as the shadow clone he had made to pick up the item his 'superior' had wanted disappeared. He had then learned that his clone had gone into his hotel room to pretend he was in his room taking a nap. When he finally made it to his room, the silver haired man began to muss his hair a bit to make himself look like he had just taken a long nap and went to the door. Opening it, he stuck his head out, making sure to look around with bleary eyes. As a man passed by he stopped him and asked him what was going on.

"Ushio-san and some other guys from the Suna organization came and said that one of their man infiltrated in the village's ninja forces has disappeared." The man told him with a nervous tone, looking anxious as he almost immediately began to walk again, going through a door, in a room that seemed to be the one where the entire ruckus was coming from.

'News travel fast.' Kakashi thought darkly, as he hadn't imagined the young man's disappearance would have been noticed so soon, following the man into the room he had just entered.

As he entered the room, the silver haired man realized that everyone was there, Goshi, all the men that had come with them to Suna as well as Ushio and three of his men. Noticing that he had entered the room, all heads turned to face him. Hayao, who was part of the group of men Goshi had designated to come with them, walked up to him, a victory sneer on his face.

"Oi Obito! Where the hell were you?" he asked in a growl, shoving his face near Kakashi's as he added with narrowed eyes, "I didn't see you in the hotel at all during the day, and now you are turning up out of the blue. It's suspicious."

"He was running an errand for me." Goshi intervened sending a stern look at Hayao, "Then an hour and a half later he came back and then stayed in his room up until now. He wouldn't have had time to do it."

Though he didn't say anything else, as he knew it wouldn't do for him to question his superior, Hayao sent a heavy glare in the undercover jonin's direction before walking away from him.

"Whoever did this is after our organization." Ushio commented, arms crossed and a deep scowl on his face as he seemed to be thinking deeply, "Masakatsu didn't have any enemies. He was so simple and naive that nobody ever held a grudge against him. No, this has to be the work of someone who deemed him a hindrance."

"What are you trying to say Ushio?" Goshi asked the lines of his forehead deepening as his frown increased.

"What I'm saying is that there is a mole." The other man replied, "Whether it is in your ranks or ours is still uncertain."

At hearing this, Goshi scowled at nothing in particular as he thought about what Ushio had just said.

"No need to dwell on it right now. Everyone is too controlled by fear and too full of adrenaline to think coherently and composedly. I will appoint some men to the search of Masakatsu." The member of the Suna organization said with a weary sigh, standing and walking slowly toward the door with his men following him, "Better sleep on it. Tomorrow we will assign some men on the investigation of whom could be the mole."

After the men of Suna left, Goshi turned to his men, looking at them all with a scowl on his face.

"Ushio is right. Let's just rest and we will think about all this tomorrow with clear heads." He told them, adding something with a definite threatening edge to his grave voice before he began to leave as well, "No one is allowed to leave this hotel am I clear? If anyone puts even one foot out of here, this person will be killed on site."

With that said, the man walked out of the room, leaving flabbergasted men behind him. Slowly, one after another the men left to go to their own room or somewhere else in the hotel. As Hayao was leaving, he turned to Kakashi and gave him a dirty look, which made the jonin raise an unimpressed eyebrow acting in an aloof manner. Kakashi then went into his room, walking up to the desk present in the room and sat down. He then took out some paper as well as a pen and began to write to Naruto. In the letter, he explained what had happened since he left Kawabata no toshi and his meeting with Gaara. When he was finished, the jonin summoned Bisuke, as well as Bull, and gave him the letter that he needed to give to the blond while ordering Bull to stay with Naruto and be his personal guard. Though he knew the young man could handle himself, he couldn't help himself but be worried about the blond. As he knew the big bulldog was Naruto's favorite ninken, he didn't think the blond would have too much protest about having him with him. After having done that, the silver haired man went to lie on his bed, hoping the young man was doing well. Slowly the fatigue of the day took him over and he began to slumber, slowly falling asleep, his dreams being plagued with images of Naruto.

Two days later, as Kakashi was eating his breakfast in his room, he suddenly heard a scratching noise on his room door. Opening it he was greeted with Bisuke looking expectantly, a letter attached to his collar.

"You sure took your sweet time to open the door." the ninken told him in a gruff voice as he entered the room.

"Nice to see you again Bisuke." The jonin replied with an amused smirk, already used to the ninken's rude and blunt behavior, "I didn't expect you so soon."

"Yeah well, Naruto insisted to write back to you immediately." The tan colored dog said, scratching the back of his head with his paw, "Thankfully I managed to get some rest while he wrote his reply."

"I believe everything went smoothly right?" the silver haired man asked, an anxious edge to his voice

"Of course it did!" Bisuke huffed, as he sat on the floor and looked at his master with a look that said 'what do you take me for?', "Bull is ecstatic to be with Naruto as I'm sure he will be spoiled rotten with food, cuddles and all, and I think the master is excited as well to have company."

"Master?" Kakashi repeated with an eyebrow raised an inquisitive surprise.

"Well yeah! After all, even before he became your mate, we already considered him part of the pack." The ninken replied with a roll of his eyes, "But now that you have mated with each other, he has become our master as well."

The silver haired man's eyes grew wide at that before realization hit him. The ninken must have smelled that his and Naruto's scent had blended together. At this realization, the man felt his face heat up and become red in embarrassment. Without another word, he took the letter Bisuke had around his neck and opened it in a quite feverish manner before reading it.

_Hey you!_

_Thank you for sending Bull to keep me company but you didn't have to do that. Though I love to have him with me, I suspect you haven't sent him just for this purpose am I right?_

_You are such a worrywart! I am fine! You shouldn't worry about me and focus more on yourself for once! I worry for you and I hope that this story with the chunin won't lead them to you._

_Since you have left for Suna, things have been pretty much the same. I heard from the oyabun that they intended to expand their business with other organizations. I think they want to create a big alliance between organizations so that they will be stronger in front of the officials of the different countries. Pretty clever for a band of brainless gorillas huh? Guess there aren't just stupid brutes in Yakuzas._

_I can't believe it's only been four days since you have left. It seems an eternity to me since we have seen each other. I hope this mission won't last much longer. I don't think I will be able to not go insane without seeing you for a while._

_Okay I'm going to stop here before I become too sappy!_

_Please be safe and take care of yourself,_

_I love you,_

_Naruto_

After having read the letter, Kakashi almost immediately sat down at his desk and took a pen to write another letter to him.

"Oh hell no!" Bisuke exclaimed as he realized what the jonin was doing, "I'm not going back once again over there! I ain't some message carrier pigeon!"

"Don't worry I'm not going to make you do it." The silver haired man reassured the ninken with a small amused smile, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he said, "I got a turtledove from the Kazekage so that I could send messages quickly and safely. If you want you can rest and eat a bite before going back to the rest of the pack."

During those two days, where the masked shinobi had waited for an answer from the blond, two things had happened. First the investigation to discover whom the mole was, made by some men of the organization of Suna, had begun. Second, the undercover jonin was now officially working with the Suna organization and he felt like something big was about to happen.

"Alright boss. Take care!" Bisuke told him before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

When he was finished writing, Kakashi walked up to the turtledove that was perched on the chest of drawers and attached to it the letter before he send it flying by the window to deliver the letter to Naruto. As he watched the bird fly away, the jonin couldn't help but think of the blond. What was he doing right now? Did he think of him as well?

Two weeks passed by and the silver haired man had been keeping sending letters back and forth with the young man. They didn't stay more than two days without news from each other. It could look stupid and mushy from the outside but the older man didn't care. He missed the blond and couldn't help but worry for him.

Right now, Kakashi was walking out from a meeting he had just had with the combined group of Suna men and the ones from the Fire country. At this reunion he had heard something huge which made him immediately send Pakkun to the Kazekage's place to have an urgent meeting with the young leader of the hidden village of Suna. When he came back to his hotel room, the ninken was waiting for him, telling him that Gaara was waiting for him in his office. Without wasting anymore time he left his room and went to the Kazekage's building, too caught up in his thoughts to notice the shadow of someone following him from afar.

He entered the Kazekage's office after having knocked on the door. Gaara was standing up, looking by the window at the village. As he noticed the jonin, the red haired young man turned to face him, looking at him with his usual aloof mask on, though you could see worry shining deep within his eyes.

"What did you discover?" the young man asked straight off, not wasting anytime to get to the point.

"They are planning on taking control of the River country." The silver haired man told him, "They want to take control of a small country before taking on bigger countries like the Wind or the Fire country. They think that this action will spur on other organizations to join them to form some sort of big multinational alliance."

"That's bad." The young Kazekage said scowling at nothing in particular, "Really bad… We need to act quickly and stop them."

"Let me some time to come up with a plan." Kakashi replied, "I will send Pakkun to tell you my plan of action and to contact Konoha so that Tsunade-sama sends some teams as additional help."

"Very well." Gaara agreed with a curt nod, "We will stay alert and ready for a sign from you."

"Thank you." The jonin said with a bow before taking his leave, leaving as quickly as he had come, not wanting to waste any time on coming up with a strategy.

While walking back to the hotel, Kakashi was still too preoccupied to notice that someone was stalking him. It was only a few hours later, when someone knocked on his door, that the jonin finally got an uneasy feeling in his guts as he saw in front of him Ushio, Hayao as well as three other men standing in front of him when he opened the door.

"Hello Obito." Ushio said with a neutral tone, looking at the silver haired with an unreadable expression on his face, "Can we come in?"

"Sure." The undercover jonin said, trying not to show his surprise too much as he let the group of men walk in, "What brings you here Ushio-san?"

Hayao was looking at him with a sadistic smile, his eyes shining with victory and anticipation, while Ushio kept a stoic expression on his face, not revealing anything about his feelings.

"I have heard some disturbing rumors." The Suna yakuza said, putting nonchalantly his hands in his pants' pockets.

"Really? What kind of rumors?" Kakashi asked, trying to sound genuine in his question.

"Well you see, I have heard from Hayao here that you have been seen having contacts with ninjas." The man replied, his eyes narrowing on the silver haired man.

Then, suddenly, two men of the group attacked him with the intent to immobilize him but unfortunately for them, Kakashi had seen them arrive and blocked their weak attempt before sending them flying against the wall. His cover was now officially busted and there was nothing he could about it anymore. Now all he had to do was go as quickly as possible to Gaara and have a blitz on the Suna organization as well as the Fire one to erase them as quickly as possible before they could disappear from the earth surface and be invisible once again. But before he could render harmless the others that were in the room, the jonin felt something hit him in the back of his neck. Suddenly, darkness began to surround him as he slowly lost consciousness, falling asleep unwillingly. The last thing he saw, before the darkness surrounded him entirely, was Hayao's satisfied smirk while Ushio ordered the other men to carry him to the headquarters.

Kakashi began to wake up a few hours later, his head pounding and his eyes bleary, as the drug he had been administered was wearing off. As his mind slowly cleared up, he suddenly realized that his wrists were bound by chains up on the wall, forcing him to be in an uncomfortable standing position.

"Ah sleeping beauty seems to be finally awake!" the annoying voice of someone he knew well said in a conceited manner.

Raising his head, the silver haired man looked at Hayao standing in the doorway of the room. As the artificial light from the other side slightly poured in, the jonin could see that he was held in a small room that was completely devoid of any furniture.

"Slept well?" Hayao asked in a sneer as he approached him after having turned the light on in the room, which made the other man squint his eyes at the sudden brightness of the room.

"I've known better." Kakashi replied in a nonchalant tone of voice, acting like nothing was wrong and he hadn't his arms spread and attached to a wall, knowing it would irritate the other man.

"You seem well enough to run your mouth and act tough." The voice of Ushio said, making the jonin turn his head to the new person that had entered the room.

"Ah I see you've come to join the party Ushio-san." The silver haired man said in a sarcastically bored tone.

At this moment, Hayao's fist collided with his jaw, making his face slightly turn on the side at the force of the hit. His jaw now hurting, the jonin turned his head back to look at Hayao with unexpressive eyes, like he was waiting for the rest or something.

"You might act cool and all right now but I can promise that you will soon beg for us to just kill you." Ushio said calmly as he got nearer to the chained man.

With a snap of his fingers, two men carrying a small table as well as what seemed to be a rolled-up leather pouch in the room. After having placed the table not far from Kakashi, against the wall on the side. Taking the leather pouch, Ushio went to the table and unrolled it, revealing a set of sharp shiny tools that augured nothing good to the jonin. The Suna yakuza then took a large knife and walked up to the silver haired man. In a swift manner, the man slashed through the bound man's shirt in front of him, not caring if he cut into the skin as well. When he was finished, Kakashi's torso was exposed and shreds of his shirt hung from his arms. Small trails of blood, where the blade had slightly pierced the skin, ran along his torso and arms. Putting the blade back on the table, Ushio then took another tool and looked at the silver haired man.

"Let's get this party started." The man said with a cruel smirk on his face as he approached the jonin once again.

Groaning under his breath, Kakashi slowly opened his eyes. He had been held prisoner in this room for almost a week now. For the last four days he had been tortured and questioned. It was always the same thing. He would wake up either by himself or roughly by one of Ushio's men or even by Hayao, who was more than happy to do it. Then, Ushio would come a few hours later and torture him with tools. When he would be bored of playing with his 'toys', the Suna yakuza would tell one of his men to apply salt in the open wounds. Sarcastically enough, it was a rather caring gesture as it helped healing and sterilizing the wounds though the jonin knew the bastard only enjoyed watching him letting out the hiss of pain which he couldn't contain in when the salt touched his wounds. This way was painful as hell. He now understood what 'putting salt in the wound' meant. After that, they would all leave the room, once again leaving Kakashi alone, wounded and starved, not giving him any food nor water.

This scheme happened everyday, and everyday they got frustrated at the lack of response from the jonin. While being tortured, the silver haired man would not utter one word, not reacting in any way at anything they did to him. He would only open his mouth when spoken to, only to reply something more or less witty. Though he was being strong through all this, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder when they would kill him. He wondered if Naruto was worried about not having received a letter for some time now. Had he already realized what might have happened? Naruto… The thought of the blond made the silver haired man's heart tighten painfully. He wished he could have seen the young man one more time before dying. Sure there was a chance that someone would come to rescue him. After all Gaara might have found it strange that he still didn't receive any news from him. Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment tiredly. He hated the fact that he was reduced at hoping that someone might come to rescue. He hated relying on others, especially for something as stupid as getting caught. How much of an idiot had he have to be to get caught going to the Kazekage's office building? Sighing heavily, the jonin decided to try and rest for a while, knowing that he needed all the rest he could to endure the daily torture session he was going to have.

'It's a miracle that my body has been able to withstand this kind of treatment until now.' The man thought with a derisive snort.

With this last thought in his head, he closed his eyes and let his body relax as much as possible and fell into an agitated slumber, full of nightmares but also of thoughts of a certain blond, who could warm up his heart with just a mere thought.

"I have to say Obito, if that is your real name, that you are quite amazing." Ushio commented, as he carefully cleaned his precious tools, "You withstand pain much better than the common run of mankind. If I hadn't seen the color of your blood I would have thought you weren't human."

The yakuza chuckled evilly at his joke, while religiously wiping off the blood from a sharp blade. A week had passed by, and the silver haired man was beginning to think that maybe nobody would come save him. No, he knew Naruto would. Whatever was keeping the young man to come save him it must be important. Yes, Naruto would come. After all, he was one of the most loyal person Kakashi knew. He would never let someone behind to his or her fate. Though it was quite an endearing quality, the silver haired man was worried about him as he didn't want the blond putting himself in danger for him.

"You know I'm rather impressed." Ushio said, pulling the jonin out of his thoughts, "Not once have I heard you cry out or scream in pain when being tortured. Not even once! That's quite impressive. I know that half of my men would cry and spill their deepest secrets at the mere view of these."

At saying this, the Suna yakuza gestured to the tools' display.

"Guess I'm not as weak as your underlings." Kakashi replied with a slight unnoticeable wince as he shifted and felt his muscles as well as his newly open wounds protest.

"Guess not." The other man said in a snort, looking at the bound and bleeding silver haired man, "We still don't know from which hidden village you come from or the goal you tried to achieve by infiltrating our organization though I think that latter is rather easy to guess. But make no mistake. All of this doesn't matter enough for us to keep you alive much longer. It is only a matter of time before we decide to kill you."

"Then why haven't you done so yet?" the jonin asked, raising an eyebrow in defiance.

"Ah well you see my dear Obito." Ushio began to say with a sadistic glimmer of malice in his eyes, "Immediate death would be too easy. Slowly breaking the person and making them suffer every second is much more fun."

"You are sick." The silver haired man told him with a disgusted tone.

"Maybe. But I can assure you that when we will be finished with you, death will seem to you like the sweetest release." The yakuza replied with a vicious grin.

"I wouldn't get so excited if I were you." Kakashi said, "Someone will come to get me soon."

"Oh yeah? And why haven't you been rescued yet?" the man asked in a snicker, "You know what I think? I think nobody cares about you. They'll let you rot here. After all, isn't it the ninjas' watchword that every ninja is just a tool that has lost its utility the moment it got caught?"

Without waiting for an answer from the bound jonin, Ushio left and once again Kakashi found himself in the dark with only his thoughts as sole company.

At this moment, at the Kazekage's office building, a council was going on between just Gaara and his two siblings.

"So this is it? We are finally going to attack those Yakuzas who are stationed here?" Kankuro asked cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Gaara answered with only a nod, his face looking concentrated as he was thinking about the strategy they would use.

"What about Naruto?" Temari asked, "Did he reply to you about the fact that we need to first meet with each other and decide on a plan of action?"

Silently the red haired handed a piece of paper to his sister where the short answer of the blond shinobi had been hastily written to him. After reading it, the four pigtails kunoichi heaved a sigh of exasperation before handing the note to Kankuro, who read it as well before letting out a brief loud laugh.

"That's Naruto for you!" he said, handing back the piece of paper to his little brother, "He is such a rude moron! He doesn't even care if he is talking to the Kazekage or not."

Gaara smiled slightly in agreement as he thought about his blond friend who was acting his usual stubborn self.

On the note you could read: "_Screw you! I'm not waiting any longer. I'm going to go save Kakashi even if I have to do it by myself!"_

The next day, early in the morning, an explosion could be heard from where the Suna organization's headquarters were. Sounds of battles soon ensued though they were all quite quick over as the poor Yakuzas were so caught by surprise by this attack that it wasn't much of a hassle for the quick shinobis to render them harmless by hitting them unconscious. Though Kakashi was hearing the ruckus he didn't pay much attention to it, as he was too weak to stay awake really long.

Suddenly the door of the room, where he was held, opened violently, crashing into the wall loudly. In the room's doorway was standing a tall figure with bright blond almost yellow hair in the dimmed light behind him. The three whiskers marks on the person's face didn't leave any doubt about his identity. At seeing the state that Kakashi was in, Naruto let out an audible gasp, rushing to the jonin's side.

"Kakashi! Oi! Kakashi! Can you hear me?" the young man asked in a distraught manner as kneeled in front of the bound man, praying in his head that the silver haired man was not dead.

Awaking fully at the frantic calls of the blond, Kakashi slowly focused his eyes on the figure in front of him. Recognizing his lover, a weak but genuine smile spread on the jonin's face, which had since long lost the piece of clothing hiding the lower part of it, thanks to some of the Yakuzas who had wanted to see what was hidden under the black mask.

"Naruto." Kakashi said softly, love pouring out of his voice as he said with a glad voice, "You came."

"Of course." Naruto replied with a watery smile as he caressed the jonin's cheek lovingly, "Do you really think I would have let you die here?"

Carefully kissing the older man's forehead, which was one of the only places where the man was not hurt, the young man went to untie him. Once untied, the silver haired man began to collapse on the ground, as he didn't have any strength left. But fortunately, before his body met the ground, he felt himself fall into the warm embrace of his younger lover. Inhaling deeply the sweet unique and comforting scent of the blond, the jonin closed his eyes for a moment in bliss. His angel was here. Everything would be all right. Naruto then maneuvered the both of them so that he was carrying him on his back.

"Last time I had a piggy back ride was when we were coming back from Suna after having rescued Gaara." Kakashi commented in a humorous tone.

"Are you trying to tell me you would prefer it if it was Master Intense Brows who was carrying you?" the young man asked him in a teasing manner, relaxing a bit as he saw that despite the state he was in, his lover was a witty as ever.

"I would choose you over Guy any time." The jonin replied with a small laughter that soon turned into a coughing fit, as his parched throat hadn't had water in quite a while.

"Save up your strength." The blond told him gently, worry clear in his voice, "We will have all the time in the world to talk later when we are out of here."

They then began to make their way into the hallway of the headquarters, to the exit. On the way, the silver haired man saw Gaara with his sand imprisoning Ushio in its confines before crushing him with the Sand binding coffin jutsu. Though he knew he shouldn't never be happy about death, the jonin couldn't help but feel happy at seeing this despicable man die. Along the way of their escape, he saw other people he knew, such as Shikamaru, Sakura and Sai as well as Gaara's siblings, fighting against members of the organization. It seemed like it was a common understanding that Naruto was taking Kakashi away from the place while the others took care of the Yakuzas.

"Naruto." The jonin called weakly, making the blond slightly turn his head on the side to show that he was listening to him, "You should go help them."

"Not until you are safe." The young man replied with a hard edge to his voice as if he was containing himself to explode from too much emotions swirling inside of him.

"Put me in a corner of the room and go help them. I'll wait until you are finished." The silver haired man told him in a severe voice, before adding in a softer voice, "Don't worry, I'll be okay."

An inner battle could be seen going on inside Naruto as the blonde's face had a conflicted expression. After much intern deliberation and encouragement from Kakashi's part, Naruto went to the farthest corner of the room where nobody was and put down reluctantly the silver haired man, making him lean comfortably against the wall. When he had made sure once again that the jonin was okay, the young man hid once again the man's lower part of his face with a black bandana he had apparently been carrying with him. He then stood up and went to help his comrades. Kakashi watched from afar his younger lover fight the Yakuzas, a small-pleased smile on his face. He was not the most graceful fighter but he was certainly one of the most powerful, and seeing how he was giving his whole in this battle to help his friends and defeat his enemies, the jonin couldn't have been more proud of the blond.

Soon the battle was over and all the Yakuzas were captured or dead. Kakashi soon learned that this headquarters hadn't been the only one to be attacked today. Squads from Konoha and Suna, as well as some from the hidden village of the River country, had simultaneously attacked all the organizations throughout the different nations that were working with the one from the Fire country and Suna, which Kakashi had given a list of to Gaara. Now that the battle was over, Naruto walked back to Kakashi, who was waiting for him patiently smiling softly at him. Smiling back at him in the same loving manner, they looked at each other intensely, communicating their emotions through their eyes. Then the young man bent down to pick the silver haired man. Once he was supporting the older man with one arm around his waist and one of the jonin's arms slung over his shoulders, they began to walk back to the group who were waiting for them. This is when the blond noticed that Sakura had a strange look on her face while Sai still looked his same stoic self.

"Ne, Naruto." She began to say looking at the young man with a curious expression.

She had seen the whole display the two had just done and she was wondering what that was all about. Their look had been so intense…she wondered what that could mean.

"What happened between you two?" she asked bluntly, making Naruto look at her in confusion.

But before he could say anything, Sai intervened, as he looked at his book about personal relationships he carried with him.

"According to this book that Kakashi-san gave me, when people smile at each other in a situation where there is no reason to smile, it means that the two of them are most probably in a romantic relationship or have deep feelings of affection toward one another." The dark haired shinobi said with a really concentrated look on his face as he read what was written in his book.

"What!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes widening comically at learning that her former sensei and one of her teammate were going out together.

A blush began to adorn Naruto's face while Kakashi just chuckled lightly before wincing as it brought a new wave of pain. All the others were looking quite amused by all this and Shikamaru looked Sakura and Sai with a half-amused, half-exasperated expression on his face.

"You still didn't know they were together?" he asked a bit dumbfounded, "It was so obvious. How blind could you have been?"

At those words from the lazy young man, the majority of the assembly broke in laughter, while Naruto was becoming redder by the minute as he felt embarrassed by the situation.

'Well now we are sure that everybody is aware of our relationship at least.' Kakashi thought amused.

_TBC _

**So, I hope you are not too mad with me for having put our little smexy jonin through this. **

**Though I did know what I wanted to write in this chapter, it still took me quite a while to write it. I hope you've liked it as I don't think I can manage to have an enough objective view to know if it was good or not. Did you find the light note of humor at the end of this rather dark chapter welcome?**

**Anyway, thank you for all your wonderful reviews as always and thank you for telling me when I make mistakes because I know I'm really bad at this (and it's not even better in my native language!).**

**I'm actually thinking of going over all my previous chapters and correcting all the grammatical and orthographic mistakes, which I'm sure there are many. I'm not sure when I will have the time to do it, so if someone feels like she/he wants to do it, I will gladly accept her/him as my beta on this story. Otherwise, the correction of all the chapters will have to wait a bit. ^^**

**See ya!  
**


	24. Catching up

A week had passed by since the raids on the different Yakuza's organizations, and things had now settled a bit. Of course there were still many things to be done. All the raids had gone according to plan and all the members of the organization had been arrested and locked up. An especially grand tribunal had been created for the trials of all the leaders and their subordinates. The implementation of the jury and every other little detail had been a rather strenuous task to accomplish. But thanks to the fact that the kages of the countries that had been touched by these organizations had worked together on this with the support of their daimyo, they had managed to set all of this up in just a few days. The Fire Country's common frontier with the River and the Wind country had been chosen to be the place where the trials would be held. It had been decided that the jury would be composed of all the kages concerned as well as one neutral kage who hadn't had encountered with either of the organizations judged whatsoever. The only thing that was left to do now was to bring all the Yakuzas that were held in the different prisons of the countries where they had been arrested. Tsunade had charged a group of shinobis consisting of Choji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, Tenten and Neji to come to help Suna with extraditing the Suna organization to the town where the trial was held.

Right now, Kakashi was lying in bed, slowly recovering from the multiple injuries he had sustained during his imprisonment in the organization. Naruto was sitting by his side, taking care of him and watching over him in general as he peeled an apple for the jonin to eat. It had been decided that due to the extension of his injuries, the jonin would stay at the hospital in Suna to recover because it would have been way too dangerous to transport him back to Konoha.

"Here, I have prepared some apple slices for you to eat." The blond said as he presented a slice in front of the jonin's face that was bare right now as they were the only ones in the room right now, "Now open your mouth."

"You know I could do that much by myself. Why do I have to be babysat like this?" The silver haired man asked grumpily, as he hated to stay in hospitals and feeling so powerless, taking in his mouth the slice of apple nonetheless.

"That's what you get for getting yourself caught. Seriously, if you hadn't told the story yourself I wouldn't have believed that someone like you got caught so easily." The young man replied with a roll of his eyes and his voice stern, "At least you can eat any type of food you want, which is more than you have ever been able to do before while being in a hospital."

" 'S not my fault if they had guns with tranquilizers in them." The older man grumbled childishly, "I hate being weak."

"Well be grateful that I'm feeding you." Naruto told him, almost shoving in front of his face another piece of fruit.

"That's true. You are my own personal and very sexy nurse." Kakashi said cheekily as he took the fruit in his mouth before flicking his tongue out and suggestively licking the blonde's finger.

At this, the young man's face took an adorable shade of red as he quickly pulled his hand back.

"Pervert." He muttered as he stood up to put away the plate of apple slices on the bedside table.

"I didn't see you complain last time." The older man commented with a smirk as he saw Naruto's face become even redder.

"This is totally different!" the blond protested, his back facing the jonin as he didn't want him to see his face right now, "You are having perverted thoughts when you can barely go to the bathroom without help!"

"Well with what I have in mind, we don't even have to move from the bed." The silver haired man replied roguishly, mirth as well as lust playing in his eyes as he licked his lips, hungrily looking at his lover up and down.

Turning around to look at him, the young man's eyes widened a bit before narrowing at him in a stern manner.

"Don't you even think about it!" the blond told him threateningly.

"What?" the jonin asked innocently.

"I know that look." Naruto said, pointing an accusatory finger at him, "You are up to no good!"

Not far from there, walking up the corridor to where her former sensei was supposed to be resting and recovering, Sakura heard voices yelling, well more precisely one voice in particular. The loud voice of Naruto could be heard resonating through the hallway.

"What the hell? No I'm not giving you a sponge bath!" Naruto yelled.

"Maa." Kakashi tried to speak but got quickly interrupted by the blond.

"Oh no don't you 'Maa' me! I know what you're up to! You want to trick me into having sex!" the young man exclaimed with an accusing tone.

At this, the cheeks of the kunoichi flared pink. Why did she have to hear that conversation? Deciding to wait for things to first calm down by themselves, the kunoichi leaned against the wall opposite to the room and prayed internally that this wouldn't get more embarrassing. Oh how wrong she was…

"I don't recall you protesting yesterday." Was the calm and cheeky response from the jonin.

"I…It was a one time thing! It should have never happened! You used my weakness to your advantage!" the blond blamed him, his voice getting slightly louder as he was getting annoyed with the lewd silver haired man, "Because of that your wounds reopened!"

"It was well worth it when you were…" the silver haired man began to say with a smug voice.

Having had enough and not wanting to hear the rest of that statement, Sakura burst through the door, interrupting her former sensei, with a really big blush on her face, her pink bangs hiding the upper part of her face.

Both Naruto and Kakashi looked at her in surprise at her abrupt entrance.

"Sakura-chan? What…" the young man began to say before he blanched in realization then turned an interesting shade of red in embarrassment.

"Oh Kami… Please tell me you didn't hear our conversation." The blond pleaded, closing his eyes in mortification.

"Believe me I wish I hadn't." the young woman replied, her face still a bit red before taking on a more serious expression as she looked at the young man, "Naruto. Could I speak to you in private?"

With a nod in agreement, Naruto first leaned down over Kakashi, who was looking alternatively between the two with curiosity, and kissed him on his almost completely healed cheeks before following Sakura out of the room.

"So, what did you want to talk about Sakura-chan?" the young man asked after having closed the door behind him.

Turning around to face him, the pink haired kunoichi looked at him with a scrutinizing look.

"How serious is it between you Kakashi-sensei?" she asked seriously.

"We love each other." The blond answered without hesitation.

"Have you already?... you know." Sakura asked, looking anywhere but in Naruto's direction.

"I think you already know the answer from what you heard." Naruto replied in a mumble with a small blush, his eyes avoiding the young woman as well.

"I want to hear it from you." The pink haired girl told him, getting a determined look on her face as she raised her face to look at the young man, "Have you gone all the way?"

"Yeah." The blond said, looking back at Sakura, whose eyes softened a bit.

"That serious already huh?" she commented with a small smile.

"I guess." Naruto said with a slight sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well I'm glad for you." The kunoichi said with a wink, "Though I'm rather surprised that Kakashi-sensei accepted to be in a relationship with one of his former student so easily."

"Well it's a long story but he did have quite a hard time at first to accept. But I managed to make him change his mind and go out with me." The blond replied with a cheeky grin, though he knew it was not entirely true.

"I'm sure you did." Sakura said with a chuckle before adding with a big smile, "Well at least now that you two are together, maybe we can double date."

"Huh? Double date?" Naruto repeated confused before realization hit him, "You mean… You have someone in your life?"

"Yep!" the young woman replied proudly, "And I'm sure you'll never guess who it is."

"Who is it?" the blond asked eagerly, his curiosity growing by the second.

"Hinata." The pink haired kunoichi answered.

"What!" the young man exclaimed, his eyes growing wide, "B-but… How?"

"Well when you were first gone for your training with Jiraiya-sama, we began to hang and sometimes train with each other." Sakura began to say, smiling slightly as she reminisced, "I guess since we were both similar in the fact that we were pining for someone we would never have, we understood each other pretty well and it permitted us to create a bond more easily."

"Wait! Hinata had a crush on someone?" Naruto interrupted the young woman with a surprised tone of voice.

Looking at him with a close expression, looking like she was pondering whether he was stupid or not. She seemed to want to say something but decided against it and closed her mouth before continuing her story.

"We began to spend more and more time with each other. Then one thing led to another and we discovered that we had grown feelings for one another." She quickly finished before the young man could interrupt her once again.

"And so now you're dating each other." The blond finished for her, though his eyes asked for confirmation which she gave with a happy nod, "Well that's great. I'm glad for you."

"Thank you." The pink haired kunoichi said with a smile.

They talked a bit more, Sakura sometimes asking questions about his and Kakashi's relationship, which the answers seemed to please her. Everything was going well until the pink haired kunoichi asked one question, which the answer would not please her.

"So, how long have been going out together with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with a big smile, sign of her good mood.

"A bit more than 6 months now." The young man replied with an equal smile.

At this, the young woman got a tick on the corned of her mouth, a vein popping on her temple in annoyance. Getting slightly nervous at the kunoichi's body language, Naruto took a step back but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the fist that collided with his head, sending him flying to the floor.

"And you are telling me only now!" the pink haired kunoichi yelled at him, making him whimper in fright, as she began to approach him with a threatening aura.

"Ah! Help!" the young man exclaimed quickly jumping onto his feet, and running back into the room where Kakashi was.

The jonin looked at the frightened blond who had decided to hide himself behind his hospital bed before looking at the fuming kunoichi who had come back into the room as well.

"What's the problem?" he asked calmly, knowing that Naruto must have done something to annoy the young woman.

"The problem is that I am learning that I am the last one who wasn't informed that you two are together now!" Sakura replied with an accusing glare to her former sensei's direction.

"But everyone else knew so we had thought you would have known as well!" Naruto tried to defend himself but quickly hid himself again when the young woman glared in his direction, burning holes into him.

"Are you implying that I am stupid?" she asked, cracking her knuckles threateningly as she began to slowly walk up to Kakashi's hospital, and Naruto's hiding spot.

"Maa maa!… You know so many things happened in the last few months that we didn't really get to tell anyone. I am sorry for you to learn about it this way." Kakashi decided to intervene, talking in a nice apologetic tone to his former student, giving a sheepish smile.

This appeared to calm the young woman, who relaxed a bit.

"Alright. I forgive you." The pink haired kunoichi said with a slight pout, "But we better eat the four of us together one of these days to catch up."

"The four of us?" the jonin asked confused.

"She is with Hinata now. I'll tell you about it later." Naruto whispered to him quickly, getting up from his hiding spot now that he knew Sakura wouldn't do anything else to him.

"Hey guys! What are you doing?" Kiba asked as he passed his head curiously through the doorway to look at them before opening the door completely, revealing himself as well as Neji.

"Hey Kiba! What's up?" Naruto exclaimed happily, walking up to the young man and bumping fists with him.

"So what were you talking about?" the shinobi with tattoos on his cheeks asked before smirking mockingly at the blond and asking in a rhetoric manner, "You were getting scolded by Sakura again weren't you?"

"Why would you think that?" the blond asked, squirming uncomfortably on his feet.

"Intuition." The fanged chunin replied with a cocky smirk, winking at Naruto, "Even though Sakura is now with Hinata, she is still as scary and violent as ever. Hahaha…Ouch! Oi! What was that for?"

While Kiba was laughing, Sakura, who looked once again really annoyed had went up to the dog master shinobi and had hit him rather hard on the head as well. With an indignant huff, the pink haired kunoichi then went to sit on a chair near the hospital's room window while the brown haired young man was swearing at her.

"Neji! I'm hurt! I need a kiss!" Kiba whined in a childish manner, throwing himself at the stoic Hyuga who looked at him like he was crazy.

"That's what you get for making fun of people." Neji told him in a patronizing tone of voice while pushing him away with a hand making the other pout in disappointment, then as he ignored Kiba whining about wanting some loving, he turned to Naruto, "As for knowing that you were scolded by Sakura, the swell on your head is a rather good indicator of it."

"Hey! Don't tell him the secret!" Kiba protested with half a glare.

"It's not really a secret when everyone can see it is it?" the long chocolate haired jonin replied with a slightly annoyed scowl at the young man's immature behavior.

"Hum, could I ask you something?" Naruto said hesitantly, interrupting the oncoming bickering that was sure to happen between the two, looking at the two of them alternatively with a concentrated frown on his face, "How long have you been friends together?"

The two shinobis looked at each other in a slight taken aback manner before looking in astonishment at the blond who was looking at them naively, while Sakura face-palmed herself. Kakashi was looking at the scene in amusement, though he did feel kind of awkward at his lover usual cluelessness. Kiba took the matter in hand by grabbing the dark longhaired jonin by the hips, pulling him into his chest and wrapping his arms around his torso in a possessive manner.

"We're together." The fanged shinobi replied with a possessive undertone that well stated that Neji belonged to him.

"Oh okay." The blond jinchuriki said with a slight blush but a very happy grin on his face, "That's great! I'm glad for you! You finally found someone who can stand you and doesn't care about your crappy jokes. Hahahaarrgh!"

"What was that teme? Repeat if you dare!" Kiba told him with a growl as he locked the blonde's head under his arms.

While the two were bickering, trying to overcome the other, Neji walked up to Kakashi, bowing respectfully in front of the injured man.

"Sorry for us intruding like this Kakashi-san." The Hyuga family member apologized, "Kiba really wanted to see Naruto again as we didn't really have much time to see him between our missions and him going to train in some mysterious places with Jiraiya-sama."

"It's alright Neji." Kakashi replied with a smile, "I also have to apologize for stealing him away from you every time he was free."

"You don't have to apologize. I would have done the same thing if Kiba had been almost constantly away." The dark haired jonin said with a smile of his own, before making a face as he added in a fond joking tone, "Though right now it would be more the opposite as he is following me everywhere since I got injured a few days ago. I wish sometimes he would let me breathe a bit."

At this, the silver haired man chuckled before looking back at his blond who was still having a fight with the Inuzuka young man.

'I wonder if I'll ever grow tired of always being with Naruto.' Kakashi thought.

But then, he decided that it was impossible as he listened to the young man's bubbly laugh and realized that the blonde's mere presence was as essential as oxygen for him. He could never grow tired of him. He loved being with him too much for that. The jonin then began to daydream about ways he could maybe lock the young man and himself up in their apartment and stay there for days and weeks, cuddling, kissing and just being together.

'Oh yes.' He thought with a goofy smile on his face, 'That would be perfect.'

A few days later, Kakashi was able to get out of bed and all the preparations to extradite the Suna organization's members to the place where they would be charged and prosecuted for their crimes were done, everything was ready. In a rare socializing gesture, Gaara had decided to invite everyone for dinner, explaining in a rather shy way that it would be nice to be all-together once more before they left. Of course Naruto had been ecstatic about this offer and had taken it upon himself to drag everyone to the farewell banquet as he called it.

This is how, all the shinobis of Konoha were sitting right now at a long table with Gaara and his two siblings. Shikamaru was sitting next to Temari, trying to look like he was bored out of his mind, though he kept glancing at the pig-tailed kunoichi with a small smile on his face every time he looked at her. Naruto looked at them for a while with a smile of his own. He knew those two would end up together. Whatever Shikamaru said about women being troublesome, he could see how much he cared for her and how they were just meant for each other. After a while, the blond began to look at other people, spotting in a corner Choji and Ino who looked quite taken by each other, though right now Ino was once again berating poor Choji about how pigging himself on food like this was rude and telling him that he should stop if he didn't want to have a stomachache. They were cute together and the young man was glad that Ino had overcome her crush on Sasuke and had given a chance to someone as awesome as Choji. Then, Naruto looked at the most unexpected couple he would have ever thought of: Tenten and Shino. How these two had managed to get to know each other and get into a relationship was something he couldn't figure out. But then again, love had mysterious ways and all he cared about was that the two of them looked really happy with each other. It seemed like Tenten was doing the talking for the two of them and had enough character to stand up to Shino's stubborn and sometimes haughty attitude. Shino seemed to calm Tenten down a bit, and the young woman seemed to awake the affective part of the young man. All in all, though they looked quite an odd couple at first sight, they were quite suited for each other.

The dinner went rather smoothly considering the loud mouths that were Naruto, Kiba and Kankuro, as those three kept making jokes and acting silly, then they would laugh really loudly and getting a lot of attention from all the others. Both boys and girls enjoyed themselves, joking and laughing around, and just having fun being together. Then something happened that made everyone freeze in shock. They had been having quite a few drinks and the mood was warm and festive. But when they heard what Sai said next, leaning toward Gaara next to whom he was sitting, they all sobered up instantly.

"You are really cute Gaara-kun you know." The Root shinobi says with a charming smile, scooting closer to the young Kazekage.

People looked at the both of them with batted breath, waiting for Gaara's reaction. To his credit, the red haired kept a stoic face though a pink hue could be seen spreading on his face. But before the young Kazekage could say anything, Sai opened his mouth again.

"I think what I like the most about you is your eyes. You have really beautiful eyes." The dark haired young man said in a low seductive voice before looking at his clothes, "Though I have to admit that I'm also very intrigued about what you look like under these clothes."

At this bold comment, the whole assistance gasped in unison, their eyes open wide in shock. Suddenly the thought of Tenten and Shino together didn't look as odd to Naruto anymore as the idea of Gaara with Sai was even weirder. What was the Root shinobi thinking? Did he have some kind of death wish or something? After all, Gaara wasn't used to be hit on at all. Heck! He wasn't even used to have his personal space invaded like that!

"Tell me do you have anymore tattoos on your body?"

Silently saying their farewell to Sai, everyone waited for the moment where Gaara would crush the dark haired young man with his sand.

"N-no." was the shy and embarrassed reply that the leader of Sunagakure gave with a really cute blush, making the jaws of the entire assistance drop in stupefaction.

Stunned, they looked at Sai flirting with Gaara, while the red haired would blush at the dark haired young man's bold words. None of them had expected this kind of reaction from the young Kazekage. They all had thought that Sai's seduction attempts would have been crushed along with him for daring to behave this way with Gaara. But apparently, the young leader of Suna wasn't indifferent to the young Root member's charms. For a while longer, the assistance looked at the two of them flirting with each other, too shell shocked to react yet.

"If someone had told me one day that my little brother would let himself be seduced, I would have called this person crazy." Kankuro said, his eyes still wide.

Every body nodded in agreement at that.

"Well we didn't really think Sai was interested in anyone either." Sakura replied looking dumbfounded at her teammate.

"Man that sucks! I'm the only one who is not in a relationship in this room!" Kankuro complained, a sad expression on his face.

"Maybe, but at least you don't have stand here seeing everyone being all lovey dovey while your other half is not here with you." The pink haired kunoichi told him with a sad pout, eyes looking dreamily at nothing in particular as she thought about her girlfriend who had stayed at Konoha for some special mission.

"Yeah, it's totally different. Since I don't have anyone I can't be bothered by all the romance in the air." Kankuro said sarcastically, looking at Sakura with a sneer, "Thanks. I feel so much better."

"Hum guys…" Choji said looking at Naruto worriedly, poking his shoulder repeatedly trying to get a reaction from him, "I think Naruto has passed out."

Turning around to look at the blond, they saw Naruto with eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in complete shock, sitting completely still and rigid.

"I think he is still in shock at this new turn of event." Kakashi explained as he looked at his frozen younger lover with an expression between amusement and concern, before adding in an uncomfortable chuckle, "I guess that was too much surprises at once for him…"

A week later, the trials of the organizations' members had begun, and many of them had already been sentenced to a lifetime of prison or in labor camps. Kakashi and Naruto had gone back to Konoha. Back at the Leaf village, the two men had decided to officially live together while waiting for the house to be finished. The next day, Naruto had moved to Kakashi's place and had put his apartment on sale. For the next few days, the two of them spent their time working on the house and just hanging at the jonin's apartment, enjoying the calm pace that their life had right now.

One day, Sakura along with Sai went to see them, knocking on the apartment's door. As they waited, they could hear the sound of hectic footsteps coming from the apartment, and then a loud thump followed by a muffled curse. Then, in a rather rash manner, the door opened, revealing a really tousled looking Naruto, his gaze slightly hazy and unfocused as he seemed somewhat agitated, almost like he had been woken up abruptly.

"Hello Naruto." Sakura said with a smile, before asking with a frown on her face, "Did we wake you?"

"Huh? No!...Maybe a bit…I was hum…taking a nap…yeah." The blond replied, scratching his head while looking at the ground as if he was trying to put his thoughts together, the pink hue on his cheeks hidden by his bangs covering the upper part of his face as his head was bent.

"A nap at this hour? Are you feeling okay?" the pink haired kunoichi asked sounding a bit concerned.

"It's too bad." Sai said with an upset tone, "I don't have a book on diseases. The only ones I have are on weapons and relationships."

"That's two kinds of books I would never think of seeing on the same shelf." Sakura commented, looking at the ex black op agent with a deadpanned expression, before turning to the young jinchuriki, "Where is Kakashi?"

At this moment, a bare-chested Kakashi appeared in the hallway just behind Naruto. Though he didn't have a top on, it appeared that the silver haired man had still thought about putting his mask back.

"Maa Naruto, get rid of them quickly so that we can go back to the bedroom." the jonin said with a voice a tiny bit whiny as he seemed to not have noticed yet who was at the door, maybe thinking it was the postman that was delivering a package or something.

Naruto instantly became beetroot red from his face up to the roots of his hair at the words of his lover's lustful voice. At this view of her ex sensei half naked, Sakura's eyes became as wide as saucers before realization hit her and a look between utter disbelief and flustered anger appeared on her face.

"Oh I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, her voice loud and angry, "You are doing this in the middle of the day! Can't you keep it in your pants for the day? I've never seen a bunch of such horny guys in my life! Naruto! Do you sometimes think with your head instead of with what you have between your legs? And you Kakashi-sensei! How can a grown man like you act like a hormonal teenager? This is the middle of the day for Kami's sake!"

While the young woman kept ranting about proper behavior and randy men, Naruto looked like he wanted nothing more but to dig a hole in the ground and bury himself in it. Next to him, Kakashi looked barely embarrassed or apologetic, just having a slight sheepish look on his face while scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. As for Sai, he was looking with a quite interested expression on his face at the tantrum Sakura was throwing and the reaction of the two men who were under the wrath of the pink haired kunoichi.

"When a woman yells on a men for being with someone, it is a sign that she is jealous." The Root member said.

"What the hell?" Sakura exclaimed as she looked at Sai dumbfounded, "I'm not jealous!"

"This is what's written in this book." The dark haired young man replied, holding out his book to show it to her.

At this, a big vein popped on the young woman's forehead showing how angry she was. Apparently having had enough, she snapped then proceeded to throttle the poor young man. Grateful to not be the victims of her temper anymore, by silent mutual agreement, Naruto and Kakashi carefully and silently closed the door, letting poor Sai to his fate under the claws the 'mini Tsunade' as they called her from time to time.

"Remind me to not answer the door next time." The blond said to the silver haired man with a heavy sigh, which made the jonin chuckle lightly before taking the young man in his arms and leading him to the kitchen to eat something after the mood had been ruined.

_TBC_

**Here you go! One filler chapter for you! This chapter didn't serve any real purpose except entertaining you so I hope it will have done its job.**

**I will try to update next chapter before St Patrick's Day as I will be basically partying and therefore being unable to write at all during three to four days. =P**

**Anyway, next chapter will be interesting and I think rather unexpected for most of you so keep an eye for it. ;)**

**See ya!**


	25. Truth & Trust

**Hey guys! Before this chapter begins I just would like to thank everyone who is supportive of this story. It makes me really happy that you like it so much and I will do everything I can to improve myself more and more to keep you entertained (as well as making less and less orthographical and grammatical errors… =P). I really enjoy writing but what I enjoy the most is to write for people. So knowing that what I do is actually liked and entertains people makes me extremely happy and really pushes to write even more. ^^**

**Okay now enough talking, I'll let you enjoy your chapter. ;)**

Naruto was in a foggy forest, walking through the trees without any real purpose. Then suddenly, he found himself in a whole other place. It was a bright large room covered in yellow and white light from the ground to the ceiling, making the young man feel like he was walking in a bright morning sky. Then, out of nowhere, someone appeared and walked toward him. It was a man with spiky blond hair with two jaw length bangs, framing either side of his face. The man was slightly taller than Naruto, and his eyes were of a sky blue color. He wore a short-sleeved long white coat over his normal attire, decorated by flames-like motifs on the edges. Having looked at his stone face that was carved onto the hokage's mountain, Naruto immediately recognized the man in front of him as the Yondaime. With wide eyes and a knot in his throat that he couldn't explain, the blond looked at Konoha's legend walk up to him.

"Hello Naruto," Minato said with a warm smile.

Not feeling able to answer the man and ask him how he could know his name, the young man stayed silent and kept on staring at the late hokage.

"You've grown a lot over the years," the blond man said, his eyes softening as he looked at the dumbstruck young man, "I am very proud of everything you have accomplished. I had been afraid that you would lose complete control to the Kyubi but I can see that you are managing quite well. I guess I worried for nothing."

"After all you take from your father." The Yondaime commented jokingly, giving a wink to Naruto who looked confused by those words.

However, before the blond could say anything to the older man, Minato began to fade away, a proud smile never leaving his face.

"Wait! Don't leave! How do you know me?" the young man hastily cried out to the fading man, a desperate tone in his voice as he didn't want the man to disappear without answers, while he tried to grab the man to keep him here but met nothing but air.

Naruto woke up instantly, his eyelids opening abruptly to find himself lying on his back in bed and facing the white ceiling of his and Kakashi's bedroom. Disturbed by the dream he just had, the blond cogitated internally about the meanings that it could have, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly. Why did he dream of the Yondaime? Moreover, why did the Yondaime act like he knew him? Where was this feeling of familiarity coming from? This confused and frustrated the blond to no end. He had learned by now that dreams always had a meaning and each of them had its importance. The only thing he needed to figure out was what could this one mean.

Heaving a sigh, Naruto rolled over on his side and looked at the man lying next to him with a pensive look. Kakashi was still sleeping soundly, his silver bangs lying almost flatly over his face, covering part of it. This was one of the only times that the jonin's hair didn't defy gravity and laid low. His face was relaxed, without any wrinkles, and his skin was smooth with no sign of an agitated sleep. He was lying on his stomach, his arms hugging his pillow and his face half buried in it. The only sound you could hear was the soft sound of his breathing. At this cute sight, Naruto smiled softly and brushed back a silver bang away from the older man's face, making him stir slightly before settling back down while hugging his pillow more tightly. It was funny to the young man how Kakashi could be really cuddly during the day, but when the time to sleep came, the only thing that could eventually get a hug from the jonin was the pillow. Not that the blond minded as he already had enough with his own body heat to sleep soundly. He had never liked to feel too warm when going to sleep, so the fact that the silver haired man wasn't the cuddly type at night was perfect for him. As he got lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed that his partner was waking up until two arms encircled his waist and pulled him flush against the hard chest of his lover.

"Hey babe," Kakashi said, nuzzling the back of the blonde's ear before gnawing on his earlobe playfully, "What were you thinking so hard about?"

"I had a really strange dream." Naruto said, humming in contentment as his older lover began kissing his neck.

"What was it about?" the jonin asked as he began, with his tongue and teeth, to play with the young man's collarbone, while one of his hands began caressing the smooth hairless skin of the blonde's chest, his fingers rubbing teasingly the soft nubs that were Naruto's nipples.

"Hmm I forgot." The young man replied, closing his eyes blissfully, his body melting under the ministrations of his lover.

"You are rather forgetful this morning I see." Kakashi commented with a mischievous smirk, flicking one of the blonde's nipples with his hand.

"And who's fault is Aah!...that?" Naruto asked rhetorically, his back arching under the sinful hands of the jonin, quickly adding in a growl, before the silver haired man could retort anything, as he wound his arms around the older man's neck and pulling him closer, "Okay now less talking and more action!"

With a roguish grin, Kakashi dived in for the blonde's mouth, claiming his lips into a passionate kiss that lit both of their bodies on fire as they began to engage in some early morning activity.

The next day, Naruto and Kakashi were at the cottage, painting the wall of the room that would be their living room. They had done some big progress with it. They had decided to keep most of the rustic aspect of the cottage by letting the beams exposed and using light and natural colors, though they also did some of the rooms in a rather modern style. Now all that was left to be done was to paint some rooms and put some wallpaper in some others as well as lacquering the wooden floors.

"We should give it a name." Naruto commented out of the blue as he was painting the walls in a light brown color, having lost the argument with Kakashi about painting the living room in orange but having won the fact that there would some be orange along with red in their ultra modern kitchen.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked, having been startled by his younger lover's statement and not understanding completely what he meant.

"The house." The blond explained, "We should name it."

"Ah sure that could be nice." The jonin replied as he continued painting, "Do you already have a name in mind?"

"Actually yeah." The young man told him, "I was thinking of _Kokoro no katei_."

"Home of the heart huh?" the silver haired man commented with a smile, stopping to paint to look at the blond, "It's nice. I like it."

"I thought so too." Naruto said, as he stopped painting as well and turned to Kakashi with an excited smile of his own, "Maybe we could put a sign in front of it with the name so that people who come will see it."

"That's a great idea. We'll do that after this if you want." Kakashi told him getting a bright smile from his younger lover before they both got back to painting the room.

Later in the evening, the two of them were sitting in their apartment resting and enjoying some peace and quiet after having worked hard on the house all day. After having finished with painting the whole living room, they had created a sign where they had put the newly found name for the cottage. Right now, they were both sitting on the couch in the living room, having a hot cup of tea to warm them up from the cold weather that was actually going on in Konoha.

"When do you think we will be finished with the house?" Naruto asked after a moment of silence, as he leaned against the older man, his steaming cup of tea between his hands.

"I think we will be able to move there in a week." Kakashi answered, one his hand holding his cup while the other rested on the young man's hip.

"Hmm that's good." The blond said making a satisfied sound in the back of his throat.

Tomorrow was White Day, so the two men were going to take a break to celebrate it. Kakashi had planned the whole thing. He had reserved a private cottage in an onsen for them so that they could have a place to be just the two of them. The jonin hadn't told Naruto about this bit of information, as he wanted it to be a surprise. But also because he knew the blond would have protested about it being too much, but he wanted to be alone with his young lover with no one to bother them.

So the next day, Naruto and Kakashi packed a bag with a change of clothes and all the things necessary for a two day stay at the onsen. The blond was really excited about it and couldn't stay still for more than one second as he kept making sure they had everything while bouncing around and grinning like a loon. Fortunately for both him and the silver haired man, who wasn't sure he would have been able to deal with the young man's hyperactive attitude about the whole thing, the onsen that the jonin had chosen was only an hour away from the village. They arrived at the inn right around the time for lunch. The onsen was located on a hill, where a village spread at the feet of it. They decided to eat at a restaurant in the village before going up to the inn. After having eaten, they went to check in at the inn, where the owner greeted them and showed them their room. The lodge they were in was nice with light and warm colors, creating a calm and relaxing atmosphere.

"You had booked a cabin?" Naruto asked surprised, as he turned to Kakashi after having looked at the room they were in.

"Do you like it?" the jonin asked, sounding slightly nervous as he waited for his lover's approval.

"Are you kidding? I love it!" the blond replied with a bright grin, hugging the older man tightly.

"Happy White Day love." The silver haired whispered tenderly, hugging him back and looking down at the young man with warm loving eyes.

Raising his head, Naruto gave Kakashi a quick peck on the lips before letting go of him and beginning to explore the small cottage excitedly.

"This place is awesome!" the blond said with enthusiasm as he went to look at the bathroom.

"I'm glad you like it." The jonin told him with an amused smile, as he looked at the young man coming back into the room and looking into the drawers and closet as if he would find some hidden treasures.

"Whoa look! There is a private outdoor pool!" Naruto exclaimed as he slid one of the paper doors, at the back of the cottage, aside, revealing a small garden along with a steaming hot spring pool.

Of course the jonin had known there was a private pool. After all, he wanted to enjoy the view of a flushed naked Naruto soaking in a hot steamy bath without anyone around, as he wanted the privilege of such a view to be allowed only to him. This thought made Kakashi have a lecherous smirk on his face, though he quickly erased it, as he didn't want to be caught by the young man about having perverted thoughts. His face went back to its usual expression of 'innocence' in time for when the blond turned to him.

"You're amazing you know that." Naruto said with a warm smile, his face showing all the happiness he felt.

"I didn't, but maybe you could show it to me." Kakashi told him with a suggestive look, a lustful glint in his eyes, trying to grab the blond to pull him to him.

"Nuh huh! Not before we first go to take a dip in the pool." The young man replied as he dodged the older man, "We've come all this way, so we need to enjoy the hot springs!"

"Alright." The jonin agreed, making the blond look at him suspiciously for having accepted so quickly.

But as he began to undress while heading toward the small private pool they had, Naruto realized why the silver haired had agreed so heartily.

"Oh no mister you are not going to get away like this!" he said with a shake of his head and his hands on his hips, adding as Kakashi threw an innocent look his way, a confused expression on his face, "We are going to the big bathhouse."

"Kill joy." The jonin muttered with a pout as he went to the closet to get the yukatas of the inn for them to put on before going to the main bathhouse.

A few hours later, after they had relaxed into the hot springs and enjoyed some of the activities that the inn offered, they went back to their little cottage where a table full of food that the inn staff had brought welcomed them.

"Everything looks so delicious!" Naruto exclaimed with saliva dribbling from his chin, as he looked at all the different dishes, the mouth-watering aromas wafting toward them.

They sat down and began to eat with gusto, tasting every dish, eating until their stomach was full. Afterward, they sat at the veranda facing the small private garden, and drank some tea while enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Sitting contentedly next to each other, enjoying the mere fact of being together, they stayed quiet for a bit before they decided to go for another soak before going to bed. This time they went into their small private pool.

"Ah this feels like heaven!" Naruto said with an appreciative moan as he lowered himself into the hot water.

"You know that you saying this while being butt naked isn't really good for my sanity." Kakashi whispered huskily as he leaned toward the young man, nipping at his earlobe playfully.

"Oh yeah?" the blond said before gasping as he felt one of the older man's calloused hand traveling up and down his thigh, caressing his skin and groping teasingly random parts of his body from time to time.

"Hmm yeah, your voice turns me on so much." The jonin replied in a purr, while his mouth alternated between sucking on his neck and kissing it, earning a loud moan from his young lover, "And your body…it makes me want to claim you and make you mine all night long, making sure that nobody will ever try to touch you."

At hearing this, Naruto lost it and roughly pushed the silver haired man back against the stone seat of the small hot spring. Straddling the man's hips, the young man then captured Kakashi's lips in a searing kiss, transmitting all the passion and desire he felt into it. Not complaining at the feisty attitude of his partner, and not minding the roughness of it at all, the jonin enthusiastically responded to it by circling the blonde's hip with his arms and pulling him closer to him, a hand threading into the young man's hair to deepen the kiss. They kissed each other fiercely like that for a moment.

As things were getting hot and heavy, the mood becoming more and more intense as passion was poured in, Kyubi intervened inside Naruto's mind.

"_Oi gaki! I know you don't really like me and I have stayed silent for a long time about this but you really need to listen to me right now. If you are not careful you will…"_ the Nine Tailed fox began to say but got interrupted by an extremely annoyed Naruto.

"_Go away! I don't want to listen to you right now!"_ the young man said in a cutting voice that didn't want to hear anything.

With that said the blond roughly pushed away the demon fox into the deep realms of his mind, where he would not be able to hear him, and refocused on the man whom he was sitting on and that he was kissing fervently.

Kyubi didn't intervene anymore for the rest of the night and the two lovers were able to fully abandon themselves in each other. They fell asleep in the arms of the other, Naruto having completely forgotten about the earlier event that happened with the demon fox, and too happy to sleep in the arms of the man he loved.

The rest of their stay at the onsen went well and by the time they were back at Konoha, Naruto, whose dream he had had a few nights ago about the Yondaime was still nagging at him, had decided to do some research about this man that everyone called a hero and one of Konoha's best shinobi. For days, he went to the library and read every book he could find on the village's history and every piece of paper that had the name of the late hokage on, but no matter how much he read and how long he looked, the young man didn't seem to find what he wanted. There was no information about the man's personal life, barely the name of people who had been his teachers. There was nothing about if he had been married, if he had had any children, nothing… It frustrated the blond. Furthermore, something bugged him. Around the time of Kyubi's attack on the village, nothing was said about how Naruto had been the one chosen to be the Nine Tailed beast receptacle. There was no information whatsoever on how the Yondaime had chosen him specifically. Why him? Why not someone else? Of course he could have asked Ero sennin about it but he had a feeling that the older man wouldn't tell him anything. Kyubi was just out of the question. He knew if he asked something from the demon fox he would have to give him something in return, and there was no way in hell it would be just a box of chocolate or flowers. Though he wished he could have a better relationship with the Tailed beast, Naruto knew that Kyubi was too sneaky to be trusted. The young man decided that he could not talk to anyone about it without fear of them putting barriers in front of him to try to stop him from discovering something. People seemed to keep a secret from him. It reminded him too much of when he was oblivious of the fact he had the Kyubi inside of him, and he didn't like that at all. He was 16 years old for Kami's sake! He could handle the truth! He didn't like being kept in the dark. With that thought in mind, the blond decided that he would break in Tsunade's office and to look at the archives and medical files that she kept stored preciously in a room joined to her office. After having made up his mind about breaking in the blonde woman's office, Naruto began to prepare his plan meticulously.

Meanwhile, on Kakashi's side, the jonin was finding himself in a dilemma. It had been three days since their little escapade at the onsen, and Tsunade had called him to her office to tell him something. A meeting between the female Hokage the Raikage of Kumogakure had been planned at a secret place that was at equally distance from both countries. For this event, each Kage was to bring two of their special op forces as personal escort and bodyguards. Tsunade had chosen Yamato as one and wanted Kakashi to put back on his ANBU uniform to be her second escort. The Raikage and her had never got on really well, and she knew that the silver haired man's ability to be diplomatic would be of great help. If he agreed to come and be her personal guard, the meeting had a chance to not end up into a shouting match with things being smashed to pieces in anger. This is how the head medic woman asked Kakashi for him to work as an ANBU member one last time as a favor. After hours of pleading from Tsunade, which soon turned into threats of revealing extremely personal embarrassing things about him to Naruto, Kakashi agreed, though reluctantly. He had left the ANBU for the good reason that he didn't want to have any direct contact with the elder council, which was stupid when he thought about calling them a council as they were just two. By accepting to become an ANBU once more, he felt like he was betraying himself in a way. But he couldn't say no to Tsunade, no matter his feelings toward the elders he still had duty toward his village and his Hokage.

This is how he walked back to his apartment to go to his apartment to gather what he needed for his mission. When he arrived at the apartment, he saw Naruto sitting at the table in the living room, his face scrunched up into a very serious expression as if he was deep in thought. As the blond had not noticed him yet, the jonin sneaked behind him, and leaned right next to his ear.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Kakashi asked in low voice.

The blond gave a startled jump before turning quickly to the silver haired man.

"Geez! You startled me!" he told him placing a hand on fast beating heart.

"Sorry." The older man said with a smile, not looking sorry at all.

"So, what did Tsunade-baachan wanted?" the young man asked, "Did she ask you to do the paperwork in her stead?"

"Actually, she assigned me mission. I have to leave in an hour." Kakashi replied, his smile instantly falling as he said this.

"What! So soon?" Naruto exclaimed with a frown, "I thought we had a few more days off after our last mission."

"Well that was a special request from the Godaime. Apparently I'm the only one who can do it." The jonin said, thinking that this statement was half true.

He hated to lie to Naruto but ANBU matters had to stay secret even from the persons close to you. Though the silver haired man still hadn't told the blond about his past as an ANBU, he knew he would tell him one day as he wanted nothing to be kept from each other. But for now, he would keep this secret until the day he decided to tell the young man.

"Okay. Then I guess you should hurry up and pack." Naruto mumbled disheartened as that meant that the older man would be away for some time.

"I promise I will come back as quickly a possible." Kakashi told him, caressing the young man's cheek tenderly before giving him a quick kiss on his forehead.

The silver haired man then went to the bedroom he shared with Naruto and packed his ANBU clothes in a bag along with some shurikens, kunais and a short sword. Though he would normally have no need for them, it was better to be prepared at any eventuality. When he was done, he went back down to the living room, where Naruto was standing, waiting for him.

"I'm going." The jonin said.

"Be safe." He young man told him giving him a soft smile.

Smiling back softly at him, Kakashi quickly pulled down his mask to give the blond a soft sweet kiss on his lips before pulling it back up and leaving the apartment. When he was sure nobody could see him, the jonin quickly changed into his ANBU outfit in a dark corner of a street, putting the shurikens and kunais into his pouches and attaching the sword to his back. Lastly, he put his wolf mask on and hurried to the Hokage office where he was to meet with Tsunade and Yamato.

As soon as Kakashi had closed the door behind him, Naruto rushed to their bedroom to get a few things. Such an opportunity was too good to pass up. He had heard that Tsunade-baachan would be away for a few days and now his boyfriend had been assigned a mission. This was the perfect opportunity to get into the old hag's office and to dig for information about the Yondaime without being suspicious or getting caught. After all there was no better way to know someone than by looking at their medical file. Moreover, he knew Konoha kept the records of all the great shinobis whether they were dead or alive. He had actually discovered this when he had once been caught playing a prank on the persons in charge of the archives and had been given as a punishment to reorganize every file in alphabetical order.

After having put on a black outfit and having taken a few things such as a flashlight, the blond went to Hokage's office, prepared for a sleepless night of investigation. When he finally managed to get into the archive room, he searched for Minato Namikaze's file, which he found rather quickly and began to read it intently. As he read on, what he discovered made his eyes widen more and more in shock. In the mention marital status, the case married was ticked. But this was not what had made the young man react. On the space where the name of the spouse was marked, there was written Kushina Uzumaki. The same last name than his… Did that mean that they were related? Hastily, the blond looked for the woman's file and looked into it. The only mention of family members was of a certain clan that had apparently been wiped out and that she was a distant relative of the first Hokage's wife. But she apparently had had no child. Then how were they related? Had there been many Uzumakis who lived in Konoha? Suddenly, Naruto realized something: he hadn't looked at his medical file. He would certainly learn a lot more by looking at it. Impatiently he searched for his own file.

After a few hours of infructuous search, the young man was beginning to get frustrated. Then, an idea struck Naruto's mind. He hadn't searched into Tsunade-baachan's office. He then went there and began to rummage into the drawers and through the pile of files that were on her desk. With an internal cry of victory he finally found it and began to look into it. When he arrived at the part where it said who his parents were, what he saw made him take in a sharp breath. In the space for the name of his father and mother was written the name of the Yondaime along with his wife Kushina Uzumaki. Was it for real? Could he really be the son the Fourth? Then why would he have sealed the Kyubi into his own son? Would his mother have really let him done something like that? All these questions were storming inside his mind as confusion, and sadness coiled inside of him, his eyes stinging as his vision was getting blurry with tears that wanted to spill. When he had decided to come here to investigate, he hadn't thought he would discover this kind of things. Now he wished he hadn't come here in the first place. It hurt. Knowing who his parents were actually hurt more than not knowing as it was bringing a whole new lot of questions and uncertainties. Suddenly he felt so weak and vulnerable. Naruto replaced the files to their right place and quickly left the Hokage tower. At first he had wanted to go to his old apartment but then he remembered that he had sold it and so went to his and Kakashi's apartment. Once arrived at the apartment, the blond went to the bedroom where he slumped onto the bed on his stomach, burying his face into a pillow and sobbing silently until he fell asleep from exhaustion into a restless sleep.

For the next three days, Naruto spent his time thinking about everything he had learned about him and the Yondaime, his sorrow and confusion had soon changed into hurt and fury as he began to realize that Kakashi must have known about all this as he had been the one to take care of him when he was just a baby. Moreover, he had been the student of the Fourth, so there was no way he could not have known his parents. Why didn't he tell him anything? It seemed like the older man was hiding a few things from him and he didn't like that one bit. He didn't know what exactly the jonin hid from him, but the young man was dead set on finding that out as soon as the silver haired man came back.

That night, as Naruto was hanging a bit in the living room, watching a movie before going to bed, he heard the front door open. Soon after, he saw the tired figure of Kakashi come inside the living room with his bag on his shoulder. The meeting had gone mostly well but it had been really hard to keep Tsunade in her seat as her conversation between her and the Raikage had mostly been a shouting match. Thankfully, they had come to an agreement and the meeting was over in just a day. The jonin was just happy to be home now and be able to relax after a tiring mission. However, Naruto didn't see it like this.

"How was your mission?" the blond asked with a neutral voice, trying to stay polite and not start to aggress him vocally without warning.

"It was exhausting but I managed." The silver haired man said with a small smile before looking at the young worriedly as he sensed something was wrong.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, as he put his down on the table and to the couch where the young man was sitting on.

"Well let's see," Naruto said sarcastically with a bitter voice, standing up from the couch, "I recently discovered that my father was the Yondaime, someone who was your teacher when you were young, and you didn't tell me a thing about it!"

At this Kakashi tensed a bit before taking a step toward the blond.

"Naruto…" he began to say but got interrupted as the blond let go of his anger.

"Save it!" the young man told him taking a step back, to keep a distance between him and the jonin, "You know how I hate people lying to me and not telling me things! When I was a child, the others would make fun of me, telling me that my parents must have abandoned me because I was too much trouble. I began to think that they were right, that nobody would ever want me. I thought that I must have had done something for them to have left me like that. At that time there was only Inari-neechan and Iyashi-niisan that were there for me but they were busy and so they couldn't always be there for me."

Naruto breathed in deeply before continuing before Kakashi could say anything.

"Then I learned that I was Kyubi's jinchuriki. I learned that everybody had kept me in the dark about this. Then I met Iruka-sensei and I was really happy to have had someone finally recognizing me." He added, tears slowly beginning to flow down his face, "I thought that there were no more secrets. But then, you announced me that you had raised me for a year when I was a baby. I accepted this revelation and decided that since we were together; if there had been any other secrets you would have told me. But now I discover that you had hidden something from me that concerned me directly!"

"Naruto I'm…" Kakashi tried to speak but was once again interrupted by the blonde's angry yell.

"You are what huh? You are sorry?" Naruto exploded, his red in anger and his cheeks wet with tears, "I don't want you to apologize and think everything will go better afterward! What I want are explanations!"

Exhausted both physically and mentally, Kakashi sat down on the couch with his hands holding his head. He couldn't deal with this right now. Why did that have to happen right now? He was so tired he wasn't sure he could have this discussion right now with Naruto. As for the blond, he was looking at him with resentment in his eyes at the man's attitude, too furious and hurt to take into account the other's exhausted state. He was furious against the silver haired man and he wanted to get an explanation now. Then, he turned to the table where the bag that the jonin had brought back with him was lying. With blind determination to see if the man was hiding anything else from him, he went to it, opened it and looked at the content in the bag. Kakashi, realizing what he was doing, quickly got to his feet and tried to prevent the young man from seeing what was inside the bag.

"No don't!..." he exclaimed, but it was too late.

Naruto took out the wolf mask that was Kakashi's ANBU mask, and looked at it with a sad expression on his face before turning his yes to the horror-frozen jonin.

"See? You don't even trust me enough to tell me that you work with the ANBU." Naruto said, his voice soft with sorrow, as all his anger had left him and had just been replaced with an immense sadness.

Softly, he put the mask down and began to leave, taking only a jacket on his way out. Just before he went past the front door, the blond stopped.

"Don't follow me. I need to be alone for a while." He said in a low voice, without turning around to look at the other man.

Feeling helpless, Kakashi watched the young man walk out of the apartment, despair going through him, praying that he would come back and that they could sort this whole mess out. He didn't want to lose him, especially over something as stupid as this. Knowing he now had his nerves too on fire, and that he would not be able to sleep well, the jonin walk up to the mini bar he had and decided to poor himself something strong, wanting nothing than to forget and relax as much as he could while praying interiorly that everything would get solved tomorrow.

Naruto was walking at a quick agitated pace in the streets, just trying to settle down all the emotions that were swirling inside of him. He soon found himself near the village's river, and decided to go seat on the nearby pontoon. As he sat down, the blond looked at the reflection of the moon in the dark water. For a moment, he listened to the nature, taking in the cold night air that was gently blowing, and rustling the trees' leafs. It was so quiet, so peaceful. While Naruto's mind was in a tumult of different emotions, nature and life in general seemed to keep going without a care in the world. He liked it. This atmosphere was bringing him a little bit of momentary peace. After a while, he felt that he had managed to calm a bit and was more relaxed. But now he was beginning to be freezing and his extremities such as his hands and feet were numb. Slowly getting up from his spot, the young man began to wonder whom he could bother to ask for a place to crash for the night. He didn't want to face Kakashi right now as he knew he might just blow up again. Also he knew he wouldn't be able to stand going back to the apartment and wait for tomorrow to have a conversation about all this. So his only option was to find a place where to spend the night before facing Kakashi once again with a cooled head.

As he was walking away from the riverbank while thinking about whom he should ask shelter from, Naruto suddenly felt a presence in front of him. As he looked up to see who it was, all he could see was two red orbs with three tomoes swirling in a counter clockwise manner before his vision filled with black.

"Mission accomplished." One low but soft voice said as the person having this voice picked the passed out blond, "We now have the Kyubi's jinchuriki."

"That was easier than I thought it would be." Another voice commented, sounding almost disappointed by that fact.

"Lets go." The first voice replied, taking off.

This is how the two shadows left Konoha as quietly as they had entered it, speeding up as soon as they were out the village's wall toward their base, taking with them an unconscious Naruto.

_TBC_

**Here you go! Ready right for White Day, which happens to be in this chapter as well. What a coincidence! (Notice the sarcasm in this sentence… lol)**

**Anyway I hope you liked it. As you see a new drama has happened. **

**I think you must already have some idea about who kidnaped our little blond. I'm sorry if people don't like it. I don't know why but I have something for poor damsel (or in this case gallant) in distress who are kidnapped and saved by their shiny knight in armor (I had a messed up childhood…). Though I don't think I'll let him be rescued…hmm…I guess we'll see in the future chapters how my mind goes about this. ^^**

**See ya!**


	26. Blurry Borders

**Hey guys! *Dodges knives and pans* I am oh so so so sorry for the long time there has been between the last chapter and this one but I have to say that I have been horribly busy so I hope you will forgive me… :3**

**To help you in forgiving me I have written a rather long chapter (well it should have been longer than that but that would have meant waiting longer for it to be posted…). **

**Anyway, I have a slight warning for you, as there will be from now on m-preg in this story. I apologize for those who dislike this. My mind works in very weird ways, as, even though I have ideas about how the story will go, I have no idea what my mind is going to come up with along the way. So I didn't know I would go this way when I started this story, and certainly didn't think of all these story twists I would do at first. So once again, I apologize if any of you are uncomfortable with m-preg but this is the road I have decided to take for this story.**

**For those who are not bothered by this: enjoy! **

With a pained groan Kakashi slowly woke up, feeling there was a hammer in his head just hitting continually the walls of his cranium. Courtesy of a night of heavy drinking where the jonin had tried to drown his problems, he now supported a massive headache that seemed to be determined to make his life a living hell for the day if he didn't soon take something to subside it. After having taken two painkillers with a big glass of water, the silver haired man went to sit on the couch in the living room, closing his eyes for a moment. Letting a sigh, he thought back of yesterday's night. Naruto had been so mad but he hadn't been ready to tell him the whole truth, and then, as if the blond discovering that the Yondaime was his father was not enough, he had seen the older man's ANBU mask. The hurt in the young man's eyes had made Kakashi's heart ache at the view and want to go and comfort him but he knew that at that moment he would have been pushed away violently. So instead, he had let Naruto leave the house without resistance, knowing that nothing good would have come out of running after the young man in the state they were both in. But now it was time to face the blond and explain everything to him. The only problem was where the blond could be? He had obviously not come back last night and the jonin doubted he would have spent the whole night outside. The only logical conclusion he could come out with was that Naruto must have squatted at one of his friends' place.

Though he was a bit reluctant to go beg for Naruto to come back, especially in front of the blonde's friends, the silver haired man knew he had to push his pride aside and do it if he wanted the young man to agree at least hearing his explanation. With that decision firmly set in his mind, the man left his apartment, deciding to try first Kiba's apartment that he was sharing with Neji. After all, aside from Sakura, Kiba was the closest one to Naruto and Kakashi knew that if the young man would have chosen his female partner's place, as the pink haired kunoichi would have chewed his ear off about them both being big idiots. At least if he had been in this situation he wouldn't have wanted to hear the young woman's patronizing rant. When he finally arrived at Kiba's place, the silver haired man knocked on the door, forcing himself to not be too antsy and anxious, as the only thing he wanted to do was to get into the apartment, find Naruto and apologize as quickly as possible so that the embarrassing moment would be as short as possible. The door opened to reveal a still sleepy and tousled Kiba, who looked at Kakashi with an unfocused gaze as he didn't seem to realize who it was yet.

"What is it?" the fanged shinobi asked in a slurred voice as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hello Kiba. I'm sorry to wake you up but have you seen Naruto?" Kakashi asked trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.

"Huh? Naruto? No, he hasn't come here. Why? What happened?" the brown haired chunin asked sounding more awake now as he got a concerned expression on his face at the mention of the blonde's name.

"Nothing. We just…had a little argument that's all." The jonin said, passing his hand in his hair in frustration, letting out a sigh, "If you see him could you just tell him to come back home so that I can explain and tell him everything please?"

Leaving a puzzled face Kiba, Kakashi walked away without further explanation and heading toward the next friend's place where Naruto could be. However, the silver haired man felt panic rise up as he went to each place he thought the young man could be and saw that he wasn't there. He went to see Iruka, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Sakura, Lee and Guy, Shikamaru etc. He even went to Sai's place! It was now one in the afternoon and still no news from the blond, not even a sign or anything. Worry was eating at his guts like a vicious worm, his mind overloaded with many different images of Naruto hurt and in trouble. He knew the blond was upset but there was no way he would go all the way to Suna just to be away from him right? Now really worried, the jonin went to the hokage's tower and entered Tsunade's office without knocking. In the room was Tsunade along with Shizune and Shikaku Nara.

"We were in the middle of a reunion Kakashi." Tsunade told him with a disapproving scowl on her face.

"Naruto has disappeared." Kakashi replied, completely ignoring the female hokage's remark and walking up to the desk.

"What?" the blonde woman said befuddled for a second before scowling again as she demanded in a firm voice, "Tell me everything."

Then Kakashi began to tell every details of what had happened last night, telling her about how he had found out about whom his parents were and him being an ANBU agent.

"I see." she said with a sight, closing her eyes for a secod before opening them once again and looking at the distressed man with a frown on her face, "Are you sure he is not just avoiding you?"

"He didn't come home to sleep last night and he hasn't gone to anyone's place to sleep for the night." The jonin told her impatiently, "I know Naruto. Though he is hot headed, once calmed down a bit he will want to have an explanation from me. The fact that nobody has seen him is strange."

"Around what time did he leave your house last night?" Tsunade asked, a stern look on her face now as she was becoming worried as well.

"Around 11pm." The silver haired man answered.

The female hokage cursed under her breathe, getting a questioning and concerned look from the jonin. With a resigned sigh, Tsunade looked at Kakashi with a grave face.

"You know how I have to sometimes incorporate some Root members into the usual ANBU squad that is guarding the village to keep the peace between the different political divisions of the village? Well last night there were some men of the Root in the squad that was supposed to guard the village's walls." She said, her hard eyes never leaving the jonin's.

"You mean that…the Root could have something to do with it?" the silver haired man asked, panic washing over him, making his heart beat really fast in fright at the idea of the somber ANBU subdivision having their hands on Naruto.

"It is a possibility that has to be considered." The blonde hokage replied gravelly with a frown on her face as she thought deeply about this, "After all Danzo has been riling non stop the elders up against me to keep Naruto inside the village and to appoint a group of men to be with him 24/7. The fact that I have put Yamato as a second captain in the team has calmed them down a bit but it seems it's still not enough for them."

Kakashi had heard enough. Turning around abruptly, the jonin began to walk determinedly to the door.

"Kakashi! Where are you going?" Tsunade exclaimed, standing up from her seat.

"I'm going to take care of the Root and get Naruto back." The silver haired man replied without turning to look at the woman, his hand reaching for the doorknob.

However, a quick order from Tsunade and the jonin found himself surrounded by ANBU members who each had grabbed him by the shoulder or the arm in a gentle but firm grip that promised that at any sign of resistance they would not hesitate to use force.

"You idiot! Think about what you were about to do! You can't barge in the Root like this without proof!" the female hokage told him, "Furthermore, we have no idea where Naruto could be kept or by whom. We need to play our cards right or else we might further endanger the brat by inadvertence. You are a shinobi for Kami's sake! Use your head instead of your heart for once!"

Reluctantly, Kakashi let himself be guided by the ANBU to a chair, facing the blonde woman.

"If I may give my opinion," Shikaku intervened, speaking up for the first time since Kakashi had barged into the office; "If Danzo is the one behind Naruto's disappearance he will not have kept him in the village. He might even have had help from outsiders."

"What do you suggest then?" Tsunade asked, intertwining her fingers in front of her and resting her chin on them in a thoughtful concentrated manner as she looked at the head jonin.

"First, I think we need to arrest Danzo and keep him in custody during the whole investigation and make sure he can't have any contact with the exterior. Like that, if he really is the one behind all this, we will have an eye on him all the time." The scarred man began to say.

"Then, we need to interrogate people from Danzo's entourage if they have heard anything about plans to kidnap Naruto, and we need to see if some people were outside around the time Naruto could have been kidnapped." He continued, "We also need to interrogate Danzo, though I think it will be tricky and hard to extract anything from him, as he is very tough and cautious. He will probably have put many mental barriers and traps in his mind in case someone would try to extract information from him."

"And how do you think we should proceed? Do you have anyone special in mind?" Tsunade asked.

"For the interrogation team, I recommend Inoichi Yamanaka Aoba Yamashiro and Ibiki Morino as well as two other jonin specialized in interrogations." Shikaku said, "As for the intelligence team, I would like my son Shikamaru as well as myself and three other shinobis in it. And finally, for the searching team to try and find where Naruto could be, I think Anko Mitarashi, Shino, Sai, as well as Kiba and Tsume Inuzuka. Also, Kakashi could go with the searching team since his ninkens could be useful as they could cover more ground by spreading in different directions."

At saying this, the scarred man looked at Kakashi expectantly as he waited for the silver haired man to show if he agreed with this plan or not. The older man was satisfied when he saw the lanky man give him a curt nod, saying that he was okay with this plan of action.

"Alright. As everyone agrees with this plan, Shikaku," Tsunade said, turning to the head jonin with a stern face, "contact immediately everyone you want to appoint in the different teams but do it discreetly to avoid the Root to hear about it."

"Hai." Shikaku replied, bowing respectfully to the hokage before taking off quickly, as to not waste any time putting everything in motion.

"You," she then said as she turned to the two ANBU members who had stayed there just in case they had to keep Kakashi from leaving the room once again, "I want you along with Aoba Yamashiro to go and arrest Danzo as soon as possible. Be as discreet and careful as possible. I do not want people to know that he has been put under arrest."

With just a quick nod, the ANBU members left in a puff of smoke.

"What about the elders?" Kakashi asked, speaking out for the first time since he had been forced to stay and sit down, "Wouldn't they notice if Danzo was arrested?"

"I'll handle them." The blonde hokage replied with a hard-set scowl, looking at the masked jonin, "Just focus on gathering the searching team and find Naruto. Now go."

This time it was Kakashi's turn to leave in a puff of smoke out of the office before he quickly took off to go get everyone that would form the searching team, as he wanted to start searching immediately, an uneasy feeling in his stomach as his guts were twisted with worry and fear. He was scared for Naruto, worried for his well being and scared of never seeing him again. Tsunade looked at the chair the silver haired man had just been sitting a few seconds ago. She then stood up and went to one of the big plate glass window that covered half of her office. She looked absentmindedly at the village, her mind completely focused and filled with worry for Naruto.

'You better not let anything happen to you brat before we arrive to rescue you.' The female hokage thought with a frown on her face and her lips shut tight as concern was written all over her face.

Naruto woke up with a groan, his eyes opening slightly to realize that he was in what looked to be a cave. The only source of light was coming from the entrance of the cave, which appeared to be around 15 feet away from him. He squinted his eyes slightly to try and see something, as his immediate surroundings were very dark. It was rather large cave that could have easily accommodated 10 to 15 people. The young man guessed there was a river or some sort of water source not far, because he could see thin streams of water running down the wall of the cave against which he had his back to, and the dirt under his fingers felt wet. As he tried to move his arms, he soon found out that they had been bound to the sides of his body, effectively preventing him from using the top of his body.

Suddenly he saw someone appear at the entrance of the cave. The person was tall with a broad body. He was draped in what looked to be a long cloak with a high collar and a huge sword strapped on his back.

"The jinchuriki brat is conscious again." The person said, turning to look at someone who must have been next to him, "What should we do? Do we let him stay awake?"

"No." the other person replied, "He will give us a hard time if he stays awake. Let's get him unconscious again until we arrive at the base."

With that said, Naruto saw another form appear at the cave's entrance, this time having slightly the time to see who the person was before he fell back into unconsciousness. Remembering the first time he had met those deep piercing and observant orbs with the sharingan, the long black hair held into a ponytail and the lower part of the person's face hidden by the high collar of the cloak he was wearing. The blond immediately recognized Itachi Uchiha and his intimidating, almost overpowering aura. As he slipped back into unconsciousness, the blond couldn't help but have a sense of dread at the idea that the Akatsuki, and none other than Sasuke's older brother, had kidnapped him.

The next time Naruto woke up, he found himself lying on the floor of a windowless room. It took him a few minutes to fully get rid of the drowsiness fogging up his mind, but then he remembered that he had been kidnapped and by none other than the Akatsuki. The very same organization that had already tried to kidnap him almost 4 years ago.

'So much for training to defend myself against them.' The blond thought ironically with a snort as he laughed at himself for being so useless.

How had he let himself be captured so easily? Sure Itachi Uchiha was one of the strongest shinobis he had ever met but still. How could he have let them sneak up on him without detecting them before it was too late? Before the young man could think further on the subject and scold himself for his incompetence, the door opened, revealing Itachi Uchiha at the entrance. In the Uchiha clan murderer's hands was a tray with a jug of water and a bowl of rice on it. Without saying a word or even looking like he acknowledged the young man's presence, the older Uchiha walked into the room, making Naruto get into a defensive stance, realizing at this moment that he wasn't bound in any way.

"I wouldn't think about it Naruto-kun." Itachi said, as Naruto had been ready to make a bolt for the door and try to escape from this place, "You would not be able to do two steps before running into someone."

"A bastard like you has no right to call me this way." Naruto growled out at one of the last member of the Uchiha clan, "A murderer like you can't talk to me like we knew each other."

"It's true." Itachi agreed, turning to look at Naruto right in the eyes, "I am a murderer. I killed my entire clan, for the exception of my little brother without a single hesitation."

The intense look the elder Uchiha on Naruto was unnerving the blond and making him squirm a bit uncomfortably, as he felt like he was an insignificant insect or a prey in front of a dangerous predator, wanting to hide but having nowhere to do so. Then, the Uchiha's gaze looked at him up and down but soon settled on the blonde's middle section, his eyes widening for just a millisecond before immediately going back to their detached expression, the crack in his cold mask of indifference as he showed his emotions so brief that the young man almost thought he had dreamed it. This was one of the advantages about living with one of the most aloof and emotion controlled person he had ever met, Naruto had gotten used to see even the slightest emotions that sometimes slipped out of people's carefully structured masks. Before the young man could ask what had gotten the cold and emotionless Uchiha to be so astonished that his mask slipped away for a millisecond, Itachi left the room hastily without a word, closing the door with a bit more force than necessary. Confused, the blond looked at the door by which the oldest Uchiha had left, wondering what had happened.

'_Oi gaki!' Kyubi called inside his mind, startling the blond slightly._

'_What?' he said absentmindedly, as his mind was still half focused on the Uchiha's odd behavior._

'_Can I talk to you for a second?' the Nine Tailed beast asked._

_Taken aback by the fox demon's request, as it sounded like the beast was making an effort to be polite and ask instead of order, Naruto gave Kyubi his full attention, feeling this was important._

'_Sure.' He replied, 'What is it?'_

'_There is something you need to know, as by how this Itachi guy acted, he knows about it.' The fox demon began to say, sounding a bit uncomfortable and worried._

'_Oh come on spill the beans Kyubi! What do you have to tell me?' Naruto asked, becoming impatient as well as more and more worried at the beast's strange behavior._

_Never before had the Kyubi acted like he was walking on eggshells. He was more the blunt type, who would get a sneaky pleasure at announcing bad news. So what was wrong with him? What had happened? Why was he acting so…nice with him?_

'_You are pregnant.' Kyubi told him, dropping the bomb and making the blonde's heart stop for a second and freeze in shock, before adding after a moment of silence between them, 'Oi Naruto! Breathe you fool!'_

_Unconsciously, the young man had stopped breathing at hearing the news and so took a conscious intake of air._

'_This must be some kind of sick joke. You just want to mess with my mind.' The blond said, shaking his head frantically in denial._

'_I'm sorry Naruto but that's the strict truth.' The Nine Tailed beast told him, in an unusually gentle voice, 'I have tried to warn you that you could end up impregnated, but you have pushed me away every time I have tried to.'_

'_B-but how is it possible? I'm a male! I don't have the necessary organs to procreate!' Naruto exclaimed freaking out at the situation._

'_Actually you do.' The fox demon replied, 'Having me inside you gives you some of my physical and traits, such as the whiskers marks on your cheeks, especially since you have been at my contact even before being born.'_

'_What do you mean by that?' the blond asked confused by the latter phrase._

'_Your mother was my previous host.' Kyubi explained, before adding something quickly as he saw the blonde's expression, 'But now is not the time to talk about this.' _

'_Alright.' The young man agreed with a frown, 'But you better tell me everything you know about my mother and all this later.' _

'_You have my word.' The demon told him with a nod. _

'_I guess I have no choice but to content myself with this. Though I'm not sure if I can fully trust you.' Naruto said, his frown deepening slightly for a second before his face's features softened and he let out a sigh, 'So, why exactly can I get pregnant?'_

'_As I was saying,' the beast started again, 'as I am inside of you, we share some common physical traits together. And as you decided to be a submissive, your body accommodated itself for you to conceive.'_

'_Since I decided to be what?' the blond exclaimed with a lost look on his face, looking stupidly at the fox demon who was losing his patience over the young man's own hard headedness._

'_Listen kid.' The Nine Tailed beast said, trying to restrain himself from snapping at the young man, 'I know it might be hard to believe but you are pregnant and there is nothing you can do about it. I have tried numerous times to warn you but every time you didn't want to listen to me.'_

'_So that means…that I'm going to have a baby?' Naruto asked in a low soft voice, his hand unconsciously going to his stomach._

'_Yes.' Kyubi said, his eyes softening slightly at the look on the young man's face._

_A smile slowly stretched on the blonde's face, a hand still on his lower stomach. Chuckling softly, the young man looked at the fox demon, opening his mouth, as he was about to say something when the room's door opened again, making him quickly withdrew from his mind and look at the person who had just entered._

Naruto looked at Itachi with a mix of wariness and curiosity, as the elder Uchiha looked back at him, his face a perfect emotionless mask, which showed none of his emotions whatsoever. Then the blonde's eyes went to what the clan's murderer had in his arms. He was slightly taken aback when he realized that what the man standing in front of him was holding was a blanket as well as a pillow. Without a word, Itachi entered the room and deposited his items a few feet near the young man, his behavior reminding Naruto of someone dealing with a scared or dangerous animal. Then, still without uttering one word, the Uchiha pulled out a scroll from one of his sleeves, making the blond tense. Unrolling it, the clan's murderer put it down before making a series of hand signs and slamming his hand down. What appeared out of the scroll, made Naruto's eyes widen and his mouth open in astonishment. In front of him was a folded futon that looked to be rather comfortable. For a moment, the young man looked with disbelief at the futon and the blanket and pillow, his eyes shifting between the two with his mouth gaping open without a sound leaving it. Then, he came out of his trance and looked at Itachi, who hadn't moved since the beginning, looking at him with a scrutinizing look as if he was studying his reaction.

"Hum…thank you." The blond said with a grateful yet a bit embarrassed tone.

Itachi only responded with a nod and left the room, leaving Naruto alone, the blond still astonished by the Uchiha's behavior.

'Well that was odd.' The young man thought, as he wondered why the man had acted this way.

'_It seems like this guy wants you to be at least comfortable in here.' Kyubi commented inside his mind._

'_Yeah but for what purpose?' Naruto asked to no one in particular, a part of his mind mulling over what could possibly push this mass murderer to be considerate with him._

'_That I don't know.' The Tailed beast replied, 'But I think that the life forming inside you has something to do with it.'_

In the following days, a routine was created between Naruto and Itachi, who seemed to be his appointed guard, though the blond felt he was more like a bodyguard or something like. Every day, Itachi would come into the room and escort Naruto to the organization's kitchen so that the blond could have breakfast. Apparently, though the Uchiha hadn't said it verbally, Naruto needed to stretch his limbs and breathe some fresh air. In fact, the blond realized that as time went by, the Uchiha would allow him to go mostly wherever he wanted, whether it was the common room where the other members would come relax, though he hadn't seen a lot of them yet and when he had seen them for some reason they hadn't come near him, or the garden that the base apparently had. Though most of the base seemed to be underground, some upper levels seemed to be indicating that a building was standing out of the ground.

Then, after he had finished eating his breakfast, Naruto would be able to go anywhere he wanted, under the supervision of course of Itachi until it was lunch. After lunch, the young man would most of the time go to the garden where he would lay on the grass and stay there until it was time for dinner. When he had finished eating dinner, he would go back to his room and not leave it until next morning when Itachi would come pick him up and do the exact same thing as the previous days. Naruto knew there was something odd about this. He knew they didn't consider him a real threat, especially with the chakra-restraining collar he had around his throat in a place full of Akatsuki members, some of the toughest rogue ninjas that were in this world. But why did he have all those privileges like being able to go in the garden or even lazing in the common room if he wanted to? Why did Itachi seem to act so considerate toward him? Was it because he was pregnant? Pregnant…that thought brought a smile to the blonde's face before it was wiped out by a worried frown as he thought about the predicament he was in. As he didn't want to lose his baby, one that had been created by him and Kakashi, the fact that he was pregnant was putting him in a delicate position as he couldn't use senjutsu in fear of hurting the baby. The fact that he was held captive by one of the most ruthless ninja organization also scared him to death, as he knew that anything could happen, which might risk the baby's life.

Right now, Naruto was in the garden, looking at the flowers that were beginning to bloom. At a moment, he looked at his 'bodyguard', who stood a few away from him. During the last few days, though it had been rather hard to get anything out of the stoic Uchiha's mouth, the blond would try to engage him in a conversation and ask various questions that went from genuine to very personal, just to gauge the reaction the rogue shinobi at his more or less provocative words. Itachi Uchiha was a really mysterious man. Though he had murdered his own clan, and had, as Naruto blamed him to have done, pushed Sasuke into Orochimaru's claws, the remaining member of the Uchiha clan looked nothing like a cold blooded murderer. If anything he looked more like a man haunted by the ghosts of his past. The young man had to admit that his mask of indifference was very well done. However, the aura that was coming out of him couldn't fool anyone. The dark longhaired man was lonely, and bore an incredible sadness. Naruto didn't know what he should think of him anymore. On one side he was wary of the man, but on another side, he felt curiosity and hesitation inside his guts at the sight of this man. After all, when the Uchiha discovered that he was pregnant, he had thought he would do something to harm him or at least alert the others about this situation, but up until now, the blond hadn't seen and interacted with anyone other than Itachi and the dark haired man had been nothing but nice and careful around him.

Absentmindedly, the blond began to pluck at the grass as his mind began to drift to Kakashi and how they had left things unresolved. Though he was still mad at the jonin for having hidden things from him, Naruto wanted nothing more right now than to see him again and feel his strong arms holding him like they used to do. He didn't know exactly how many days had gone by since he had disappeared but he was beginning to feel like it had been an eternity.

'If I hadn't this damn collar around my neck, I would already have blasted a hole into this place and get the hell out of there.' the young man thought morosely as he continued to pull on the poor blades of grass that were right now the victims of his bad mood as a question popped into is mind, 'I wonder if they are looking for me...'

"Naruto-kun." Itachi called the blond, making the latter turn his somber face to him, before adding in an almost soft tone, "Time to go back."

With a heavy sigh, the blond stood up from his spot and began to follow Itachi. For once, the young man didn't talk to the Uchiha on the way to his cell, not pestering him with questions, staying silent and keeping to himself during the whole time. When they finally arrived to the room where he was held as a prisoner, Naruto said quickly a small thank you under his breathe and hurried into the room before closing the door behind him. As soon as he was safe and alone in his cell, the blond went to the bed where he buried his face in the pillow before hugging it tightly against himself, his mind filled with images of Kakashi and silent tears of longing rolling down his cheeks.

Back in Konoha, the villagers could see a rather unsettling scene. Down the road that led to the Hokage tower, five cloaked ANBU members could be seen escorting Danzo, looking on edge and menacing as they watched the man warily. At the same time, Kakashi, who had come back to the village as he had wanted to be there for Danzo's interrogation, and Tsunade were looking out of the hokage's office window, watching Danzo being escorted here by the ANBU. Arresting Danzo had been a more tedious task than they had thought it would be as the man had put many traps into his house so that people could not get into it easily, and so it took them more time than expected. Then, they had had to move him to a different location, as the man's house could not possibly be the place to keep him under surveillance. Now, after three days of high surveillance of the man, with no exterior contact, it had been finally decided that they would interrogate him today, as the searching squad hadn't found any trace or clue to where Naruto could be yet. As for the intelligence team, it seemed like nobody was out the night Naruto went missing or had heard anything unusual. All these information was making Kakashi on edge as he thought it was taking way too long to find Naruto. The silver haired man had more and more of a hard time with the absence of the blond. The last time they had seen each other, they had had an argument and had not resolved it yet. Though he knew it wouldn't do any good to think like that, the jonin couldn't help but think that he didn't want the last moments he had shared with the young man to be ones of anger.

"Kakashi it's time." Tsunade said in a firm voice, pulling the man out of his dark depressing thoughts and receiving a nod from him.

The two then went to the interrogation room where Ibiki, Inoichi and a man from the Hyuga clan called Eijiro Hyuga were already there.

"Gentlemen." Tsunade said with a slight nod of her head to the men's way before focusing her attention on the man in the middle of the room that was bound on a chair, acknowledging him in a more brisk manner, "Danzo."

"I wish I could say that it is a pleasure to see you Tsunade-hime but I think you'll understand that due to the circumstances it is not really the case right now." the old man replied with a slight smile before saying, "Could you now tell me why I was arrested and kept in custody in a place for three days?"

"Always the smart mouth huh?" Tsunade said annoyed, her eyes narrowing on the confident looking older man, "You are under suspicions to be involved in Naruto's kidnapping."

"Always so hasty in making accusations aren't you?" the leader of the Root asked rhetorically in a chuckle as if he was indulging in the fantasy of a child, before asking with an annoyingly confident smile, "Why would you think I would have kidnapped Kyubi's jinchuriki? Do you have any proofs?"

'If you think you will be able to smile like this for long you are certainly mistaking kuso jiji!' The female hokage thought with an internal growl.

"Eijiro." The blonde woman said in a firm stern voice, calling the jonin to approach but her eyes never leaving the tied old man.

"Yes hokage-sama?" the Hyuga's clansman replied, waiting for the Godaime's orders.

"I want you to check him for any dangerous weapons." Tsunade told him.

"But…Tsunade-sama we have already searched when he was captured if he had any weapons hidden on him." The man said in a confused manner.

"I know that but what I want you do is search if he has any weapons hidden inside of him." The blonde hokage replied, earning a few surprised gasps and a looking of understanding from Kakashi and Ibiki.

After all, you never knew what this paranoid man could have done to his own body in order to escape interrogation or as a secret weapon against an attack.

When Eijiro activated his byakugan and looked at the Root founder, what he saw made him let out a gasp in shock.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade asked suddenly alert, as she had heard the gasp.

"His eye...and his arm…his right arm is covered by sharingans." Eijiro said in shock, his eyes wide, as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"What?" Tsunade exclaimed, turning sharply to Danzo, looking in shock as well.

The whole room was in shock at hearing that the leader of the Root had actually implanted sharingans into his arms. How he had come to possess them was a great mystery. Kakashi couldn't help the horror and disgust that crept up along his spine about what the old man must have done to obtain them. After all, the jonin doubted the Uchihas would have given them willingly. If anything, they would have taken them for themselves. So the thought that those eyes had been taken unwillingly made the silver haired man feel sick to his stomach. It was inhuman. The first person to recover from the shock was Tsunade, who shook herself to clear up her mind and turned to Ibiki and Inoichi.

"Ibiki, Inoichi, I'm counting on you." The female hokage told them, "Do whatever you want with him as long as you extort every bit of information you can. Just be careful of the possible mind traps he might have set up. I will send you a few medics just in case this fool tries anything stupid like biting his tongue."

"Where should we conduct the interrogation Tsunade-sama?" Ibiki asked in his calm detached voice.

"Take him to the interrogation room number 4." The woman replied, making Ibiki have a slight smirk that didn't augur anything good.

Room 4 was known to be one of the most gruesome interrogation chamber as it had the biggest panel of torture tools and mental utensils that could be used to interrogate and extract information from people whether they wanted or not. This was a room that had been designed by Ibiki as the man knew that at the view of so many tools and all, most people spilled even their darkest secret immediately so that they could not be submitted to such an experience. It was as much a psychological and mental torture as it was a physical one. Of course Danzo would be much harder to impress or even scare but Tsunade figured that they could at least try it out. This old man was tough but the combination of Ibiki and Inoichi was unbeatable. Those two were the best shinobis Konoha had when it came to extract information and torture. As the two men left to go to room 4 with Danzo and two ANBUs escorting him, Kakashi didn't follow them. Though he would have liked to take part into the man's interrogation, he trusted Ibiki and Inoichi with this task. He wouldn't be of much help anyway as these two had their own methods and did not really work in group when it concerned interrogations. With that thought in mind, Kakashi decided to go back to the searching team, thinking that at least he might be useful there and try to find Naruto as he had sworn to himself he would not stop until he had found him and taken him back to Konoha. Looking up at the sky, which reminded the jonin of his lover's eye color, Kakashi thought of the young man, a worried and yearning look on his face as he missed the blonde's bubbly and warming presence but was also really scared about the young man's welfare. Was he treated well? Was he hurt? All those questions were swarming in his head without finding any answers.

'Please Naruto be okay.' The man pleaded internally in his head, looking at the sky a while longer before taking off to join back his searching team.

Back at the Akatsuki's base, Itachi was walking into a corridor, heading for the kitchen to prepare something as it would soon be time for dinner, when he heard a voice coming from behind him, feeling the presence of someone in the shadows.

"I heard you were doing a good job Itachi." The voice said, as the dark figure to which it belonged walked out of the shadows, revealing an unmasked Madara Uchiha and approached the younger man, "However, I have to question why you are being so considerate with the Kyubi's jinchuriki."

"I am keeping him alive and healthy until the need to use him comes." The young Uchiha, turning to face the approaching person, and activating his sharingan in a threatening manner, "This jinchuriki has no value to me. I am merely doing what you asked me to do."

"A well rehearsed lie that you try to feed people and first of all yourself with I think." Madara Uchiha snorted in a cold cruel voice, "You have always had an incredible willpower Itachi and I have to admit that that mask of yours you are wearing all the time is quite scary. But in the end, you are just a scared child, afraid of the monsters hidden in the dark corners. You do not fool me. You always have had a soft spot for poor defenseless children. Don't you remember your precious little brother?"

"Could you please leave my brother out of this?" Itachi replied, his red eyes seeming to flash in warning as his voice became glacial, "Moreover, I think you should know more than anyone else that I have no interest in politics. I do not care much for your schemes as it doesn't concern me."

"Ah but this is where you are wrong Itachi-kun." Madara replied with a cunning smirk, "You see, if I want to gain power over the shinobi world, I will need you to assist me in it. You will have to help me rise to the top whether you like or not. We wouldn't want your dear little brother getting accidently hurt would we now?"

Staying silent, Itachi stared at Madara with a face that let no emotion show, his eyes looking straight into the older man's eyes. Madara looked back at him as hard for a moment before his face broke into a cold smirk as he added.

"I will come back in a few days," he told the younger Uchiha, turning around and beginning walk away, adding something in a drawling voice before disappearing into the shadows as he had done when coming, "I trust you to do your duty well while I'm away."

The dark longhaired Uchiha scowled at the spot where Madara had disappeared, concern creasing his brows slightly. Silently, he turned and began to walk once again, heading for the kitchen. Once there, he was met by the sight of Kisame having a drink of what looked to be sake.

"Are you off babysitting duty?" the swordsman asked as he sipped on his sake cup.

Itachi didn't respond and instead went to open the fridge and took a few ingredients to cook something for Naruto, making a bit more for himself as well. The shark like man, now knowing how Itachi worked, understood the silence to be a negative answer. For a moment, he just sat there, studying the Uchiha who was busy cooking.

"You know Itachi-san. I find the way you behave with this jinchuriki rather strange..." Kisame started to say, choosing his words carefully, "You seem very…protective of him."

"What makes you think this?" Itachi asked, his voice revealing nothing.

"Well…you always make sure that none of us can approach him and you keep him away from others all the time." The rogue shinobi from Kiri said with a frown, before his eyes opened wider as if a realization had hit him, "Could you be…"

"Don't be absurd Kisame." The Uchiha replied, interrupting what the other man was about say.

He knew what Kisame had been about to say and he didn't want his partner to have the wrong idea in mind.

"The closest thing I could consider Naruto-kun as would be a little brother but I don't." The long dark haired man added.

"Then why are you always staying close to him, like you were his shadow?" the shark like man asked, beginning to lose patience.

"None of your business." The Uchiha replied in a tone that was putting an end to the conversation, leaving with Naruto's meal on a tray.

As Itachi left, Kisame looked at his retreating form with a scowl on his face, wondering what could be up with the smaller man.

Somewhere, in a room at the top of a high tower, Pain was sitting on his favorite spot that was a statue like balcony, looking down at the village with high buildings made of iron and with wires sticking out of them. Then suddenly, Konan appeared behind him.

"Nagato," she called him, making him turn slightly his head as a sign that he was listening, "He is here."

Knowing who 'he' was, Pain silently stood up and began to walk back into the tower, knowing that 'he' was not here for a courtesy visit. And he was right as, as soon as he was inside the building, Madara Uchiha stepped out of the shadows with Zetsu tagging along next to him, with his mask on though you could feel a certain aura of annoyance coming off from him.

"It appears that our contact in Konoha had been captured." Madara said in a bored voice, though you could hear a slight tinge of displeasure as he added, "Danzo was seen being taken away by the ANBUs. It's a shame. I would have thought that he would have been of more use than that but, because of that fool, we will have to change slightly our plans and go faster than I intended."

"Does this mean you want us to do 'it' as soon as possible?" Pain asked, his face and voice betraying no emotion whatsoever.

"Correct." The other man replied, "I want you to start all the preparations immediately. In two days' time, the Kyubi's jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, will have his Bijuu extracted from him and drained of all his chakra."

_TBC_

**I know, I know…I'm finishing once again with a cliffy…but if I hadn't you would have had to wait longer for the chapter to be updated…**

**Once again I'm sorry to have taken so much time to update this chapter. I assure that once I'm finished with my exams next week, the update pace will go back to the way it used to be, which means more frequently.**

**I hope you've liked this chapter. I know there have been some weird things happening lately in my chapters that might have shocked you but I hope it hasn't made you sick of of this story and that you are still enjoying it as much as before.**

**See ya!**


	27. Real Friends and Real Foes

Carefully opening the door, Naruto stuck his blond head outside of his 'cell', looking to the left and to the right to see if there was anyone around. Then, when he was sure that no one was there, the young man surreptitiously slipped out of the room and began to walk into the corridors, exploring the place. It had now been almost a whole week that he was kept here and it seemed that his fear has slowly seeped away as he realized that he was in no immediate danger, though he did suspect Kyubi to have something to do with it as well, as he thought it was strange to be his relaxed in enemy territory even if you are in no immediate danger. In any way, anxiety had been soon replaced by a strong curiosity as well as a sense of mischief. Bored out of his mind, the blond had been dying for the last two days to visit this place and today had been his chance to do so. Since Itachi was confident that he would not try to escape, the Uchiha had left the door of the room unlocked while he was going to get the blonde's lunch, allowing the young man to get out of the room and roam free into the base. It was a bit strange, but Naruto felt like he was a little mischievous child again, feeling giddy at the prospect of roaming and discovering the base, as he knew he was not allowed to do so. With a slight giggle and a feeling of adrenaline in his veins, the blond began to visit the base, hiding every time he would hear a sound, and stifle a giggle with his hand as he would do a prank on someone. Not being able to use any chakra didn't mean that he didn't have any more physical strength and so his speed and stamina were as big as before. His first victim was the one eyed blond guy called Deidara he had met when trying to rescue Gaara, dumping a bucket of cold water on him, making him scream and swear in a rather high pitch, complaining about his hair being wet.

This is how the young man spent most of his afternoon, having fun playing pranks on everybody and exploring the base. But soon, his stomach growled as he was getting quite hungry and he decided to go to the kitchen to get himself something to eat. After having fixed himself a sandwich along with a glass of milk, Naruto went to sit on the couch in the common room where no one was. He ate heartily his meal before he began to get slightly sleepy, lied down and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep for a quick nap.

About an hour later, he was woken up by voices coming from the kitchen. By the sound of it, the persons talking were annoyed about something.

"I swear if I find the bastard who did this to me I'm going to blast him up un!" one of the voices said with a growl.

"Well you are not the only one. Someone painted flowers on Samehada but before I could turn around and catch the person who had been doing this, there was no one anymore." The other voice replied.

"Do you have an idea of whom it could be Kisame-sempai?" the first voice asked.

"No. But there are not many people in the base so it shouldn't be too hard to find who it is." Kisame said.

Then, Naruto, who had sat back up on the couch slowly awaking while listening to the conversation, heard the two men approaching. The blond saw Kisame and Deidara then enter the room, their eyes landing on him immediately and widening a bit as they were surprised to see him here especially without Itachi.

"Hello." Naruto said with a sweet innocent smile on his face, noticing smugly that the flowers were still on the bandages that were wrapped around Samehada.

"The Kyubi brat!" Deidara growled, taking a step toward him but was stopped by Kisame who put one of his arm in front of him, making him look in a surprised manner at the shark looking man, "Kisame-sempai?"

"What are you doing here without Itachi-san?" the swordsman asked, ignoring Deidara's interrogative look.

"Well I was bored so I wanted to visit the place a bit by myself." The blond replied with a shrug, acting as if this was a completely logical answer, before his face brightened as an idea went across his mind and he asked, "Hey you guys want to watch a movie with me?"

Taken aback, the two men stared at him like he had lost a marble or something else. Deidara was the first one to recover and smirked sneakily.

"So you have escaped your babysitter and decided to go play around where the dangerous guys were un." The blond one-eyed man said with a sneer.

"Please! If you are a dangerous guy, then I'm the Fire country's Daimyo." Naruto told him with a roll of his eyes.

"What did you say you brat?" the other blond exclaimed.

"Hey after all I'm not the one who got his ass kicked by said 'brat'." Naruto replied with a smug smirk.

"Why you! You better shut up now if you don't want to be killed by my own skilled hands!" Deidara growled out threateningly.

"Oh I'm sure your hands are skilled." The young man said with a snort, before he grinned mischievously, "Hey is that why you have a mouth in the palm of your hands? Ew that's disgusting! You must feel very lonely to do that!"

At this last sentence, the explosive specialist saw red and went to attack the smirking blond but was restrained by Kisame who held him back by linking his arms with his to keep him from jumping on Naruto. Naruto was surprised to see that the swordsman was actually trying to refrain from laughing as he bit his lower lip. But soon it proved to be ineffective as his whole body shook with laughter before his laughter escaped his lips and he let go of Deidara as he brought his arms around his sides to clutch them that had begun to hurt. Deidara looked down at the shark like man that was practically rolling in laughter on the floor in both surprise and indignation.

"Kisame-sempai!" the one-eyed blond exclaimed indignantly.

"I'm sorry but that is so funny. The idea of you having those mouths to… Hahaha!" Kisame began to say as he tried to explain himself but couldn't finish as he was laughing too hard, after a moment he managed to settle down and looked amusedly at Naruto, "You are rather funny kid. I think I'm beginning to like you."

"Well I don't." Deidara said with a sulk on his face as he looked at Naruto sullenly, his arms crossed on his chest.

"Aw why don't you like me?" Naruto asked in an over dramatic whine, doing his best puppy eyes at the bomber specialist, having fun embarrassing the other blond and angering him.

Right now, the one-eyed blond was looking embarrassed and uncomfortable at the look that Naruto was throwing at him and turned his head away to not look at him anymore.

"Whatever." He muttered, going to sit on one of the armchairs.

"So," Naruto said with a grin, "should we watch a movie?"

Itachi was in frenzy, dead with worry as he looked for the hundredth time everywhere in the base to see where the blond jinchuriki could be. He had even activated his sharingan to better help him in case the young man was in immediate danger and needed his help. However, when he arrived near the common room, he heard some unusual laughters coming from it. When he approached, he recognized the voice of Kisame and Deidara.

"Hahaha! Are you serious?" the voice of Kisame could be heard saying as the man seemed to burst out laughing.

"There's no way that can be true un!" he heard the bomber specialist say, sounding like he was laughing as well.

"I swear I'm not kidding!" the voice Itachi suddenly recognized to be the one of Naruto replied, "I once defeated the third hokage by doing the Sexy no jutsu. I had snuck into the old geezer's place to steal the forbidden jutsu scroll but I got busted by him and so to get away I used the Sexy no jutsu and he had a major nosebleed which made him lose consciousness."

"Hahaha man this is priceless! If I had known you only needed to do the Sexy no jutsu to beat a hokage, I would have immediately tried my luck un." Deidara exclaimed with a laugh.

"Yep! Sexy no jutsu is apparently a really dangerous weapon." Kisame commented with a chuckle.

Itachi decided to enter the room, and what he saw would have made his eyes widen in shock if he hadn't been an Uchiha. There, in the common room, was Kisame, Deidara and Naruto talking and joking together in a completely relaxed manner. Kisame was sitting on the couch next to Naruto while Deidara was sitting in an armchair next to them, looking as relaxed as the other two. Apparently, though he did put up a fight at first, Deidara had warmed up to Naruto and his lively character. If you didn't know, you could think that they were in fact enemies. The three sensed someone had entered the room and turned their head to look at who it was. Realizing it was Itachi, both Deidara and Kisame seemed to get an embarrassed expression on their face while Naruto had a sheepish look on his face.

"Oops. I got found... Hehehe." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

Not saying anything, Itachi looked at the blond intensely for a moment, before gazing at the other two who flinched at the hard look in the Uchiha's gaze and going back to look at Naruto.

"Time to go Naruto-kun." the remaining member of the Uchiha clan told the young man.

"Can't I stay a bit longer?" Naruto asked with a kicked puppy look, a small pout on his lips for more emphasis.

"Yeah come on Itachi-san." Kisame intervened in favor for the blond, "It will be soon time for dinner, we could eat all together."

At this, Itachi turned sharply to look at Kisame, his sharingan blazing as he had forgotten to deactivate it after having finally found the jinchuriki, which made Kisame squirm uncomfortably in his seat.

"Pleaase Itachi-nii." Naruto begged doing his best moist eyes to try and change the Uchiha's mind.

Taken aback by the suffix the blond had used, Itachi's mask slipped off his face for a few seconds before coming back and he let out a slight sigh.

"Alright." The Uchiha agreed, earning a bright smile from the blond, before he walked silently behind the couch and stood next to Naruto.

"Yay!" the young man exclaimed happily pumping his fists into the air, adding with a big teasing grin, "Now I get to spend more time with you crazy people."

"Be careful who you call crazy gaki or you might lose a limb or two." Kisame growled into a playful banter.

However, as soon as the playful threat had left the shark like man's mouth, a kunai was at his throat.

"Itachi-san?" the swordsman asked, gulping nervously as he could feel the blade against the fragile skin of his throat.

"What are you doing Itachi-nii? He was just joking!" Naruto exclaimed alarmed as he saw the Uchiha holding the kunai in a threatening manner against the other man's throat.

The Uchiha looked at the blond in confusion mixed with slight disbelief in his eyes.

"I assure you that they have no ill intentions toward me." Naruto added, throwing a look at Deidara to urge him to say something.

"Yeah un! We actually really like this guy. We would never hurt him un." The other blond agreed, nodding his head rapidly trying to prove to Itachi that Naruto was in no danger with them.

Seeming pacified by their words, Itachi took the kunai away from Kisame's throat.

"Wow Itachi-sempai! You sure are very protective un!" Deidara commented, looking a bit in shock at the Uchiha, "What's up with you?"

As for Kisame, he was looking at Itachi weirdly, seeming deep in thought.

"Why don't you sit?" Naruto proposed, still a bit shocked at the Uchiha's reaction as he had a hard time understanding why he had reacted like this.

Itachi complied by sitting on the armchair opposite to Deidara's one, being on the other side of the couch. The mood a bit tense after Itachi's action, a silence settled on the common room before it was broken by a request of Deidara.

"Hey Naruto, could you teach me the Sexy no jutsu?" the blond asked, making everyone look at him with a bewildered expression before breaking out in laughter, for the exception of Itachi who remained his passive self though you could see a hint of a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The tense atmosphere having been broken, the three men began to talk and joke once again with each other, while Itachi just looked at them as if he was studying ants in their natural habitat. Suddenly, after about an hour or two, someone else arrived in the common room. This person made everyone gasp, except for Naruto, in surprise as they had seen him only a few times in person as most of the time the orders were given through Konan. This person was Pain of course. Pain rarely ate with the others or hung out with them, as he preferred to stay in his tower, so the fact that he was here was a rather exceptional thing.

"Ah leader! You decided to join us tonight!" Deidara said with a smile.

"I see that Kyubi's jinchuriki is here as well." Pain said in his deep low voice, looking at Naruto with his penetrating emotionless gaze.

Naruto tensed slightly at the look he was giving him, feeling like there was something wrong about this guy that the others seemed to call 'leader'. The others looked at each other uncomfortably not knowing what to say or do exactly.

"Why did you allow him out of his cell Itachi?" Pain asked, turning to Itachi, his eyes remaining impassive, as he showed no emotion whatsoever.

"You don't have to worry leader he is not dangerous. He is actually really nice and fun." Deidara intervened, as Itachi and Pain were busy having a glaring contest between themselves.

Without responding anything to this, Pain looked once more at Naruto before turning around to leave the room.

"I will come back in an hour for dinner." The orange haired man said as he left.

When the 'leader' left everyone let out a sigh as if they had been holding their breath.

"Okay well, I'm going to go make dinner for all of us then." Kisame said, standing up, taking his sword with him.

As he watched him leaving, Itachi looked at the retreating rogue ninja with a closed expression, though if you looked deep into his eyes, you could see astonishment.

"Kisame, why is there flowers painted on Samehada?" the Uchiha asked naively, making the two blonds burst into laughing while the shark like man sputtered with his face red in embarrassment.

They then all moved to the kitchen, where Naruto talked and bantered with Deidara, and sometimes Kisame who was busy cooking as well, while Itachi looked at them and over Naruto like some kind mother watching over her children to make sure they didn't hurt themselves. The picture was rather odd and humorous at the same time as Naruto and those men looked so relaxed together and were behaving like they had never been enemies. Naruto's bubbly and sunny behavior had apparently once again drawn people to him, and Itachi had a hard time believing what the young man had managed to do with those guys who were some of the strongest and most cruel shinobis in battle in just a day. Of course there was still a long way to have their full trust or even friendship, but the blond had managed to get himself liked by them as they now enjoyed his company and were beginning to slowly get a bit attached to him.

"I can't believe you when you say that the Sexy no jutsu is your most powerful weapon." Deidara said shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at the other blond, his hand supporting his head as his chin rested in the palm of his hand.

"Hey this is thanks to the Sexy no jutsu that I managed to persuade Ero-sennin to be my shisho!" Naruto replied, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Ero-sennin?" Kisame asked sounding confused.

"Yeah! He is one of the three Sannins of Konoha!" the young man told him, before adding with a slightly disgusted face, "He is also a real pervert."

"Oh you mean Jiraiya the toad sennin? Hahaha! Ero-sennin... that's precious!" Kisame commented with a booming laugh.

Itachi looked at his partner laugh. He had never really seen him laugh and he had to admit that it was nice to hear him laugh without restraint, in a carefree manner, the wrinkles of laughter looking good on him. It's true that the world they were living in had never been favorable for them to laugh or be happy. A life of treason, blood and pain had made them wear a tough, unbreakable armor under which they kept all their emotions at bay. And now, the presence of the blond jinchuriki had seemed to have melted their armors and let the warmth seep into their hardened hearts to force them feel emotions that they had put aside so that it would not intervene into their job as shinobis.

"And how was Jiraiya as a shisho?" Deidara asked Naruto, interrupting Itachi thoughts.

"He was awesome and he still is, though it's been a long time since I last saw him." Naruto answered with a smile as he thought about his shisho, before he added with a deadpanned expression as he remembered something, "But he is still as perverted as before. Whenever he trains me, if I want him to focus on my training and not on women, I have to transform into my Sexy no jutsu at least twice a day."

At this, the others laughed heartily.

"You were Jiraiya's student?" the voice of Pain made them all fall silent, none of them laughing anymore, as they all looked at Pain who had just entered the room and stood at the table, Konan following after him, his eyes fixed on Naruto.

"Yeah." Naruto replied, looking warily at Pain, while Itachi had stood to be behind Naruto in support and protection, his eyes daring the orange haired man to approach further, Konan coming to stand on Pain's side, her eyes daring Itachi to attack the first.

"I guess that means that we have had the same shisho." The orange haired man told him, his face still as emotionless.

At this, the blonde's eyes widened in shock.

"Ero-sennin has been your shisho?" Naruto asked, wanting to make sure that he had heard well, receiving a nod from Pain before he added in a confused tone of voice, "But then, why have you chosen this path if you were one of Ero-sennin's apprentices? Why did you associate yourself with the Akatsuki?"

"I funded the Akatsuki." The man replied, making Naruto's eyes widen even more.

"Why?" the young man asked.

"This world is full of hatred and pain, and the only way to bring some sort peace is by using force and showing to this world what the real pain is like." Pain explained, "What Jiraiya spoke of was just pure fantasy. There can be no true peace, the only one that can be done is the one done by instilling fear in people through one single and powerful group. Jiraiya is just an old fool who lives in a fantasist world."

"What did you say?" Naruto growled at the orange haired man, standing up from his chair.

"If you cannot face the truth behind those words, it means that you are still a kid." The man full of piercings said, before turning around and beginning to leave the kitchen, "I think I will eat somewhere else after all."

Then Pain, followed by Konan, walked out of the room, everyone looking after him and feeling a bit relieved that the short but intense exchange was over. However, Naruto wasn't seeing it this way and ran after the man before anyone, not even Itachi, could stop him.

"Oi wait! You'll have to give me a better explanation as to why you think like this! I can't accept this kind of reasoning without a very good reasons." the young man yelled after the leaving man.

Pain turned sharply around to face the blond, making the latter halt abruptly as to not bump into him, his eyes penetrating him with a deep thoughtful look on his face, the young man returning his gaze with one of determination.

"Very well." He agreed after a moment of silence where a staring battle had ensued between him and Naruto, "I will then tell you my story and then you will tell me if you can still believe in Jiraiya's nonsense."

Pain then proceeded to tell Naruto everything that had happened to him since he was little boy, though never revealing his true identity in the process, telling him about how he had met Yahiko and Konan then Jiraiya, who had taught them ninjutsu so that they would be able to defend themselves and survive the war that was raging at this time. Then he told him about how Yahiko, Konan and he had funded the Akatsuki and how the three of them had worked hard to make themselves known and create peace without brute force. He told the young man how they had thought their efforts had finally bear fruits when Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure at the time, had asked them to lead peace negotiations between the three great countries. The blonde's eyes widened a bit when he heard that not only Hanzo's proposition had just been a ruse to get rid of them as he feared that they would try to overthrow him, but the man had associated himself with Danzo from Konoha, and as a result, Yahiko had died. Pain told him about the loath he held for Konoha, how the people of this village had taken his parents and his friends away from him, how the great countries didn't mind stepping on and crushing the smaller countries to attain their goals. While he told Naruto all this, the young man stayed quiet, taking everything in.

"Now you have heard my story." Pain told the blond, his eyes intently fixed on him, "So let me hear your answer."

Konan, who was standing next to him, was looking between the two of them, looking at Pain with a confused look on her as she was surprised the man hadn't just ignored the blond, and looking at Naruto with a look of curious wonder.

"That may be true…I think you're right. I understand you." Naruto started slowly, closing his eyes for a moment before raising his head to look at the expectant man in front of him, "But Ero-sennin believes in me so I will believe in what he believes. I will bring peace to this world."

"So…should we just sit here and wait for you to bring peace to this world!" Pain asked with a sarcastic hint in his voice, a frown on his face forming slightly, before he seemed to lose his composure as he yelled at him, "Give me a break! There's no such thing as real peace! It's impossible as long as we live in this accursed world!"

"Then I will break the curse." The young man replied, confidence clear and evident in his voice as he pronounced the words that had appeared in his mind like and evidence, "If there's such a thing as peace I will find it. I won't give up!"

Taken aback, Pain looked silently at Naruto for a moment, not able to utter any word.

"You… That's…" the orange haired man said in a shocked voice, bewilderment clearly written on his face.

"Na-Pain… What's wrong?" Konan asked in concern, almost slipping Pain's true identity.

"Those words…" Pain said, astonishment still in his voice.

"That's right." Naruto replied, taking out the book from Jiraiya he had been allowed to keep, "Those lines are from this book. The first book he ever wrote. He wrote this book to try and change this world. At the end of the book, he said he was inspired by a pupil of his to write this book. I'm persuaded it was you."

Lost for words, Pain seemed to have a hard time processing everything; as if he couldn't believe it, as if the words Jiraiya had put at the end of his book was just a coincidence. Before he could get fully past his shock, the young man added something else.

"And, the name of the main character is Naruto." The blond said, his voice full of hard-set determination, and his eyes looking deep into Pain's ones, "I will become the hokage and I will make sure there's peace in Amegakure too. Believe it!"

Silently, Pain looked at Naruto as if he was looking at him for the first time, his face though unreadable, seemed to have softened in an odd way, as if a decision had been made deep within him.

"You're an odd kid." The orange haired man said, after having recovered from the blonde's words, his eyes looking into the young man's, "I can't believe in Jiraiya and his beliefs but you…it seems I can see another future in you…"

Then, Pain turned and began to walk away once again, Konan following into his steps after him, leaving a surprised and confused Naruto. Itachi, who had been hiding in a corner, had heard the whole exchange and was now pondering Naruto's words as well as seeing Pain in a whole. The exchange had left the Uchiha with a lot to think about, and not for the first time, he thought about the impact the blond young man had on others and how it would affect the world.

"I will wait for you to prove those big words to me Naruto Uzumaki." The orange haired man told him from over his shoulder, as he didn't stop walking while talking, "I look forward to what you will do."

With that said, he left an even more confused young man behind him.

"What happened just now Nagato?" Konan asked him in whisper so that only him could hear.

"It seems that this kid has managed to make me rethink the way I was seeing things." Pain replied in an enigmatic manner before explaining further, "Right now I'm not so sure about the whole purpose of what we are doing anymore."

Konan's eyes widened slightly for a second as she looked at Pain in surprise but quickly recovered and nodded as if to accept Nagato's choice, though her mind wandered back to the young man who had apparently managed to make Nagato doubt and change his point of view, wondering who this kid was to have succeeded in changing her friend's mind.

The next day, Madara could be seen walking down the corridors to Naruto's 'cell' with his mask on. Today was the day the Kyubi's jinchuriki would have his Biju extracted from him and killed. Pain was in charge of informing everyone to prepare for the Biju's extraction while he went to get the jinchuriki. When he finally arrived in front of the room where the blond was held, he slowly opened it. As the door was opening, Naruto, who thought it was Itachi coming in, got a grin on his face, thinking about what he could do to the Uchiha before thinking about prancing on him and see how the 'prince of ice' would react. Just as he was about to start running and jump, Kyubi intervened.

'_Naruto wait!' the Nine Tailed beast almost yelled at him in a hurry._

'_What?' the young man asked, a bit annoyed to have been stopped in his run up._

'_That's not Itachi.' The demon fox told him, sounding tense._

'_Huh? How can you know?' the blond asked with a frown._

'_It's not because you have a chakra restraining collar that you can't feel others' chakra.' Kyubi replied, sounding slightly annoyed, 'And this person is not Itachi.'_

'_Then who is it?' Naruto asked._

'_I don't really know kit. But it doesn't smell good for us I think.' The beast said, seeming to feel uneasy and wary._

The door finally opened fully, revealing an orange masked man at the entrance with spiky black hair. Having never met this man before in his life, Naruto looked at the masked man in curiosity but also with caution as the demon fox's wariness was making him nervous. What made him even more nervous was the fact that the mask the man was wearing had only one hole from which he could see a sharingan. Why did this man have the sharingan? Aren't Itachi and Sasuke the only Uchihas left? This single piercing eyes looked at him in such a manner that the blond felt like they were piercing right through him and that his own core was violently dissected and studied like you would with a frog or a mouse in a lab. Shaking at the feeling of fear the man was giving him, Naruto stood frozen where he was, waiting for what the man was here for. Then, the man looked down at the blonde's abdomen and his eye seemed to widen for a minute before squinting slightly as a sign that the man was smirking.

"Ah now I see." He said in low guttural voice, giving the young man chills down his spine.

That was all the man said before he went to Naruto so fast that the young man hadn't seen him move, taking the blonde's wrists into one hand while he pushed him against the wall and pinned his wrists above his head. Frightened and feeling powerless, especially with the chakra-restraining collar, Naruto looked at the man as he tore the front of his T-shirt with his other hand, revealing the taut tanned stomach of the young man. Placing his cold hand on the blonde's stomach, making Naruto hiss at the cold feeling and at the man daring to touch him there, the masked man's hand then began to glow green as he performed a rapid basic check up of the young man's abdomen, finding that speck of foreign chakra that didn't belong to either Naruto or Kyubi.

"I now see why Itachi was acting so considerate with you." The man said, his voice worrying Naruto about the fate that awaited him and the life growing inside of him.

'_He knows.' Kyubi said, sounding alarmed and as worried as the blond._

"Your predicament changes a lot of things for me Naruto Uzumaki." The man said, sounding rather happy, or excited, the young man didn't really know how this man worked, "I never thought I would have the chance to have a Senju relative's descendant impregnated in my hands. My only regret is that you were not impregnated by an Uchiha."

"It seems like you are not going to die today Naruto Uzumaki. This situation could be a good opportunity for me to gain even more power than I had thought I would get from you." The man added with a cold cruel smirk.

Naruto heard the Kyubi growl deep inside of him at the man's words, as he himself felt scared to move, just looking with wide eyes at the man who was pinning him to the wall like he was some rag doll with no strength whatsoever. Then suddenly, the room's door opened violently, with Itachi quickly entering the room before stopping and looking at the scene, seeing Madara holding Naruto by his wrists against the wall.

"Ah Itachi there you are." The man said, releasing Naruto's wrists and walking up to the other Uchiha, "Good news, young Naruto Uzumaki will stay with us a bit longer. Continue to treat our guest well as he will need all his strength to help his baby grow healthy."

Madara began to walk out the door, stopping just at the doorway and turning his head to the younger Uchiha.

"Oh and Itachi, don't ever try to hide anything from me again." he told him in a deadly tone of voice, "I will be watching you closely."

With that said, the man left. Itachi stayed silent and still for a few seconds until he heard a small whimper. Looking up, he saw Naruto hugging his knees and a scared expression on his mission, his whole frame shaking lightly.

"Naruto?" the longhaired man asked as he kneeled in front of the agitated blond, putting a hand on his shoulder, making the young man look up at him with a haunted glint in his eyes.

"Who was this man? What does he intend to do with my baby?" he asked, a slight tremor in his voice.

"I don't know Naruto-kun. But I can promise you that nothing will happen to you and your baby. I'll make sure of that." Itachi told the blond, looking at him straight in the eyes to show him the complete honesty of his words.

Naruto softly nodded, burying his face in his knees, while Itachi awkwardly tried to comfort him by rubbing his back with his hand. After a while, the blond had calmed down and was led by the longhaired Uchiha to his bed where he lied down and wrapped the blanket tightly around him. After that, Itachi left the room, letting the young man rest a little.

'_We should trust Itachi. Though he keeps a lot of things for himself he seems reliable. I think he says the truth when he says he will protect you.' Kyubi told Naruto, as the blond laid on his side in his bed, looking at the wall opposite to him with his eyes in the vague._

'_I think so too. I'm just so afraid right now for my baby and all.' The young man replied, clutching the blanket tighter around him, 'This man is dangerous. I don't know what he wants to do with my baby. Do you have any idea who he could be?"_

'_Sorry kit I don't know. His chakra seemed faintly familiar but I couldn't manage to recognize who he was.' The demon fox said with a frustrated sigh._

"_I don't know what to do… I wish Kakashi was here.' Naruto whispered desperately, his eyes wet, as the need for his lover was growing stronger inside of him._

'_Don't worry kit. I'm sure he will come to get you. As we speak, he must be searching for you with all his will. That brat loves you. He would never leave you.' The Nine Tailed beast told him with a soft, soothing tone, trying to calm the agitated blond; gently wrapping his tails around the young man's form he had in his mind, soothing his tumultuous mind._

_Naruto looked up at the demon fox, a small smile stretching on his face before he snuggled up into the cocoon the Kyubi's tails were providing him and closed his eyes._

'_You are right.' He said softly before falling slowly asleep with the Kyubi looking over him._

Ever since their little conversation where Kyubi had announced Naruto that he was pregnant, the two of them had began to become close, Kyubi taking a liking to the young man and treating him more nicely. Moreover the demon fox had begun to have this protective feeling over Naruto that made him want to always be there for the blond.

The moment that had really made the Nine Tailed begin to like his host had been the day after Naruto had woken up in the Akatsuki's hideout for the first time.

_Flashback_

Naruto was lying on his bed, trying to think of a way out of here but couldn't come up with anything.

'_Hey Kyubi.' The blond called the demon fox, as he entered the recesses of his mind where the Kyubi was._

'_What is it gaki?' the Nine Tailed beast asked, as he was lying in his cage, looking bored out of his mind._

'_I was wondering about something...' the young man began to say with hesitation._

'_Well come on and say it!' the beast told him grumpily._

'_Hey stop talking to me like that! Sheesh! Seriously, in addition of that scary face of yours, you seriously lack in communication skills!' Naruto exclaimed annoyed, crossing his arms in a frustrated manner, 'And here I thought we had begun to be nice towards one another.'_

'_Just tell me what you wanted to ask me already and leave me alone.' Kyubi exclaimed himself, sounding annoyed._

'_Alright, alright! Don't get your knickers in a twist!' the blond said, earning himself a glare from the beast, 'I was just wondering if all Bijus had names.'_

_At hearing this, the Kyubi looked at him in surprise, his head rising from where it had been resting to look properly at Naruto._

'_Why do you ask?' the demon fox asked._

'_Well because one day you told me that if I guessed your name you would lend me your powers and it made me start thinking. After all you are beings so you must all have a name. And then I began to wonder how your life had been before you were placed in Jinchurikis.' the young man explained his reasoning, shrugging as if the reason he had come to think about this was not important._

_Kyubi looked at him with undecipherable expression on his face, his emotions hidden._

'_Yes we all do.' The beast answered._

'_And what is yours?' Naruto asked._

'_Why do you want to know?' Kyubi asked, a frown on his face as he looked intensely at the blond._

'_I would like us to become friends.' The young man said with utmost seriousness in eyes as he looked at the demon fox._

_Taken aback, the Nine Tailed beast looked at Naruto in slight bewilderment, having not anticipated this kind of answer. Silently, he studied for a moment the face of the young man and found no contempt or hint of a joke. With a sigh, the demon fox took the decision that would change his relation with Naruto._

'_My name is Kurama.' He told the blond, laying his head back on his crossed arms, trying to act as if it didn't matter though he kept glancing at the young man to see his reaction._

'_Well Kurama, let's get to know each other and become friends.' Naruto said with a happy grin, extending one of his fists toward demon fox._

_Kurama looked at him, with a still hesitating glint in his eyes and before the glint disappeared and he extended his fist as well and bumped it with Naruto's as a sign that they were creating a bond._

'_Alright kit. Let's try and become friends.' Kurama replied with a grin of his own, showing all of his sharp teeth in a rather intimidating manner that made chuckle the young man, before he regained some seriousness as he added, 'Though right now neither of our chakra can be used, I will lend you all the chakra I can give you through this cage whenever you need it. But do not mistaken, I am only allowing this because I have decided to trust you kit. If you ever do something that betrays my trust, there will be hell to pay believe me.'_

'_Understood!' the blond said happily with a big excited smile, before adding in a more subdued tone, his smile softening slightly, 'Thank you.'_

'_For what?' Kurama asked, taken aback by the young man's gratitude._

'_For agreeing to try and be friends.' Naruto replied, still smiling, 'It makes me really happy.'_

'_Tch! You are way too sentimental for your own good.' The demon fox replied with an embarrassed grunt._

_Naruto laughed heartily at this, finding the sight of the Nine Tailed embarrassed pretty amusing, his laugh contagious, making Kurama not being able to refrain a smile from appearing on his face._

_End of flashback_

Four days later, Naruto was sitting in the common room with Kisame and Itachi, the latter for once playing shoji with Naruto while Kisame helped the young man, who had never played this game before, to try and beat the Uchiha.

The first two days after the date Naruto had been supposed to die, had been awkward as neither of them had known how to behave around each other. The next day after Naruto's meeting with Madara. When the men had learned that they would have to extract the Kyubi from Naruto and as a result kill him, Kisame and Deidara had not felt comfortable with this and Itachi had just darted off in order to get to Naruto first and try to get him out of here. Neither of them had wanted to kill him and so had been rather relieved when they had learned that they wouldn't have to. However now, they were beginning to question the Akatsuki's true motives, wondering as to why Naruto had been spared after all, though they were glad he had. But now everything was back to normal. When they had seen Naruto the next day, Deidara had hugged the other blond fiercely, babbling about how he didn't want him to die and begging him to not leave them, while Kisame patted his shoulder, smiling awkwardly at him while the young man was still held into the bomber's arms. As for Itachi, the Uchiha had just looked at Naruto with his impenetrable eyes and had given him a nod, which Naruto understood as "I'm you are still among us" and returned it nod of thanks in return.

Right now, they were all having fun when suddenly Deidara came storming in the room, looking out of breath as he had apparently just ran.

"What's wrong Deidara?" Naruto asked, looking at the other blond with a surprised expression on his face at the behavior of the bomber.

Hunched up over his knees, as he was trying to regain his breath, it took the blond a few minutes to be able to speak as every time he tried he looked like a fish out of the water. When his breath had finally calmed down, the master in explosion raised his head up to look at the people in front of him.

"Orochimaru has been killed!" he told them in one breath.

Everyone, except Itachi, looked at him with wide eyes.

"By whom?" Kisame exclaimed astonished

"Sasuke Uchiha." Deidara answered, getting the others to gasp in shock.

Kisame looked worriedly at Itachi, who was looking like he didn't care one bit about the information just given to them by Deidara. No emotion whatsoever seemed to transpire from him. As for Naruto, the young man was frozen in his chair. Sasuke had killed Orochimaru. What did that mean? Would he be coming back to Konoha then? No. He still had one thing he needed to do. Naruto turned his head to look at Itachi. Though he knew Itachi had been the one who killed the entire Uchiha clan and had made Sasuke and orphan as well as scarred him for life, the blond couldn't help but not want the older Uchiha to die. The Itachi he had gotten to know was nothing like the merciless clan murderer he had imagined he would be when he had heard what he had done. Though cold and distant most of the time, Itachi was very nice and Naruto started to believe more and more that he could not have killed his entire clan in cold blood. Also, why had he left his brother alive? That alone was suspicious, and the young man decided that he would find out the whole story behind this. But for now his mind focused on Sasuke and his whereabouts. Now that he had killed Orochimaru, what did the Uchiha had in mind? Where would he go? What was he going to do? All those question swarm into the blonde's mind as he thought about the dark haired young man that he still considered his friend.

At this moment, back in Konoha, Kakashi was pacing impatiently in the hokage office, waiting nervously for Tsunade to arrive. The blonde woman had finally told him that she needed to tell him what they had found out during Danzo's interrogation. It had almost been 2 weeks since the interrogation of the old man had started and they had just finished. This factor both irritated and disturbed the jonin. It irritated him because it had been so long, but it also distressed him because, after all if they had taken that much time to interrogate the man that must have meant that they had discovered a lot of crucial information. Of course, there were still a few minutes before the time the Godaime had told him to come but the silver haired man was rather restless, as he wanted to know if there were any useful information about where Naruto was held.

"Thank you Kakashi for coming so quickly. Please have a seat." Tsunade said as she entered the room, making the jonin turn sharply toward her, looking at her expectantly before she let out a weary sigh as she saw that he wouldn't sit, "I don't have any information on where precisely Naruto could be so you better sit down and listen to me. "

Silently, Kakashi sat down, though his back was stiff and his eyes trained on the female hokage with expectancy.

"While interrogating and going through Danzo's mind, we have managed to garner some information about various alliances he has made with people such as Orochimaru or Hanzo from Amegakure. We discovered that he had plotted rather numerous times against the Sandaime and other forces of Konoha." Tsunade began to say with a somber face, her hands intertwined together in front of her, then she looked straight up into the silver haired man, her eyes expressing a really deep agitation within her, "Also Kakashi, before I get to the part that concerns Naruto's whereabouts, I think there is something really important about the Uchiha clan's massacre that we discovered in Danzo's memory… We came across the information that Danzo and the elders were the ones to order the massacre of the Uchiha."

At this news, Kakashi froze in shock, his eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"So that means that…" the jonin said in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes. Itachi is actually innocent as he was just following orders." The female hokage replied with a grave nod, "He apparently asked the Sandaime to spare his little brother and to make it look like he had done this all by himself."

"The Sandaime knew about this?" Kakashi asked in a strangled voice, still not believing that this could have happened.

"Yes. Apparently, every attempt to calm things down and to deal with the tensions between the Uchiha clan and Konoha peacefully had failed." The blonde woman said, pinching the bridge of her nose before rubbing her temples in an attempt to sooth an oncoming headache.

"How could this have happened?" the silver haired man murmured to himself under his breath, coming slowly out his shocked state and facing the reality of this news.

"Kakashi. I will ask you to keep this to yourself for the moment being." Tsunade told the man in front of her with a stern gaze, "Everyone that was in the interrogation room was put under the vow of secrecy. I trust you to do the same."

"Of course." Kakashi agreed with a curt nod of his head to emphasize that he wouldn't say anything.

"Good. Now about what we found concerning Naruto." Tsunade started again, getting the lanky man complete attention, "We found out that Danzo has associated himself with the Akatsuki to capture Naruto and use the Kyubi to dominate the world. This old fool thinks that the Akatsuki will let him govern Konoha and the Fire country after the whole world is under their control."

"So that means that it is the Akatsuki that has Naruto?" Kakashi asked for confirmation.

"Correct. The damn problem is that, Danzo was 'smart' enough to let the Akatsuki take care of capturing Naruto and keeping him prisoner somewhere. So he has no knowledge of where the brat could be." The female hokage replied with a light snarl.

Letting out a sigh, Kakashi put his face into his hand, rubbing his face wearily. At this moment, the room's door opened to reveal Jiraiya, standing in the doorway, looking concerned.

"I just heard from Shikaku that Naruto has been kidnapped is that true?" the toad sennin asked, his brows creased in worry.

"Yes it is. We have actually just learned that the Akatsuki are the ones who captured him with the help of Danzo." Tsunade told him.

"Danzo and the Akatsuki?" the long white haired man exclaimed before letting out a groan, "Great."

"Jiraiya-sama, I know you have been gathering information on the Akatsuki. Do you know where their base could be?" Kakashi asked eagerly, praying internally that he had.

"I actually do." The Sannin replied with a slight smirk, "I have heard rumors that have become more and more plausible went on about Amegakure being the Akatsuki's base. I think if we want to do anything, we can only be a team of three people at the most as it is really hard to infiltrate this hidden village and the less we will be the better it is. It will already take us about 4 days to get to the village while being careful to be completely inconspicuous."

"Very well." Tsunade said sternly, "Then you, Kakashi and Yamato will leave tomorrow for Amegakure and infiltrate the village to rescue Naruto."

_TBC_

__**Alright! Another chapter down! :D Now Orochimaru is dead and Sasuke is on the loose. **

**I hope you liked it. Thank you for your reviews on the previous chapter and keep them coming I love to read your opinions and comments. ^uu^  
**

**See ya!  
**


	28. The Great Escape

"Ne Kisame-sempai. Don't you think something is wrong here?" Deidara asked the rogue nin of the mist, a concerned look adorning his features.

"Hm yeah. I don't really like what is going on right now." Kisame replied with a frown, looking deep in thought over something that bothered him.

Pain had just now revealed to them that Naruto was pregnant and that it was one of the reasons why it had been decided not to do the ritual.

"I mean, I'm glad that we didn't have to kill him and all but… I can't help but think that there is something fishy about this un." The bomber specialist said, gnawing his lower lip in worry.

"I agree with you. Something is not right here. Though I have become quite attached to the kid as well, if we think about all this in an objective way," the shark like man began to say, "the fact that he is pregnant shouldn't have changed anything to our plans. With child or not, there would have been no problem to extract the Kyubi from him."

"Then what could the leader be thinking?" the blond member of the Akatsuki asked, sounding frustrated by the situation.

"That I don't know. But it's really odd and Itachi seems jittery these days. Even Naruto isn't quite the same since the day he was supposed to get the Kyubi extracted from him." Kisame said sounding worried.

"What I don't understand are the leader's actions un." Deidara replied before adding in a voice that had a hint of hope, "After all, he seems to have grown close to Naruto as well un. Do you think he could be having second thoughts?"

"I'm not sure… I would love to say yes but when I see some of the decisions he makes and how he behaves…it seems like he is two completely different persons." The swordsman commented with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Then could it be possible that someone hides behind him?" the blond bomber asked with a scowl, not liking the idea of working for someone he didn't know.

"It's a possibility." The shark like man said with a slight nod, still deep in his pondering, "but the only person that would be able to confirm that suspicion would be the leader himself."

"Why not Itachi or Naruto?" Deidara proposed, looking as if he had realized something suddenly, "They seem to be knowing more than they let on un."

"Hmm maybe…" Kisame said, thinking thoroughly about the whole situation.

"Hey guys! What are you talking about?" Naruto asked as he entered the common room where the two were, followed closely by Itachi, before flopping down on the couch next to Deidara.

"Nothing particular un." Deidara said in an evasive tone.

Suspiciously, Itachi turned his head toward Kisame who quickly avoided his gaze, unease clear on his face.

"Do you have something to tell me Kisame?" the Uchiha asked, looking intensely at the shark like man.

"Not really." The swordsman mumbled, refusing to meet the long dark haired man's eyes.

Then Itachi's gaze travelled to Deidara, who unfortunately for him was not quick enough to avert his eyes and was sucked into the dark orbs, feeling himself swallow down heavily before feeling his will crumbling.

"W-we were talking about the fact that we think that leader isn't really the one who runs the Akatsuki." The bomb specialist said quickly under the inquisitive look of the Uchiha.

At hearing this, Naruto threw a look at the Uchiha, who didn't look back at him. Since his encounter with the masked man, he had known that this man was actually the real leader of the Akatsuki. However, though the young man had no doubt that Itachi knew it as the masked man seemed to know the Uchiha really well, the fact that the others didn't seem to be aware of that fact unsettled him.

"Naruto." Kisame began to say toward the blond, who turned his head toward him, looking at him in the eyes as he continued with gentle voice as if he was trying to treat him carefully, "We know you are pregnant."

Both Naruto and Itachi's eyes went wide at hearing the rogue nin say this, the Uchiha's head turning abruptly toward him in a way that should be painful on the neck.

"How?" the blond asked speechless.

"Leader told us un." Deidara explained.

"I see." The young man said, squirming uncomfortably in his seat, curling up on himself in a defensive manner, while Itachi got closer to him as if to comfort him.

"Oh but don't worry! We are completely okay with this you know un." Deidara quickly added, sitting closer to the young man he had grown to consider like a brother and hugging him, "I think it's great that you are going to have a baby un."

"Thanks." Naruto said with a smile, burrowing in the other's blonde's embrace before he looked at Kisame who hadn't said anything, "What about you?"

"I think it's great kiddo." The swordsman replied with a smile, giving the young man a wink of reassurance.

"Hey could I be one of his uncles?" Deidara exclaimed suddenly out of the blue, making the three men present in the room look at him weirdly, "What? I know I'm not blood related but I consider you Naruto like the brother I never had, so the little being growing inside you is also family for me un!"

"Of course you can be Dei!" Naruto replied with a chuckle, a happy smile on his face as he hugged the other blond whom he considered a brother as well.

"In that case, is there some space left for another uncle?" Kisame asked getting a surprised look from Naruto and Itachi while Deidara just smirked, before he added with a smirk of his own, "I also think of you as a little brother and I would love to be there for your kid so that he or she doesn't turn up like you."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, glaring half-heartedly at the chuckling shark like man while Deidara was laughing as well and Itachi just smirked.

The three kept talking and teasing each other until it was time for dinner, just having fun with each other.

"Hey, I've just realized it but…it's been a long time since we've seen Tobi… Where is he?" Kisame asked with a slight frown.

"Tobi?" Naruto repeated sounding confused.

"Another member of our organization." the shark like man told him, "He is always acting rather silly and he wears a spiraled orange mask with only a hole for one eye."

At this information, Naruto visibly blanched and Itachi put a hand on the blonde's shoulder in support, which was noticed immediately by Kisame but not by Deidara.

"Good riddance if you ask me. This guy was really getting on my nerves un!" the bomber replied, waving a his hand in a dismissive way before his eyes widened and he turned his head alternatively to Kisame, to Naruto, to Itachi then back to Kisame, "Do you think that…Do you think Tobi could be the real leader? No impossible! This airhead can't even take care of himself! There is no way he could manage an entire organization by himself un!"

Naruto was still in shock. Could this man named Tobi be the man he had met that night? It seemed that all pieces were coming together, the puzzle getting clearer and clearer. Now the only major issue left was the matter of his sharingan… How could this man have the sharingan if Itachi and Sasuke were the only Uchihas left? Was he like Kakashi? Someone who had gotten the sharingan from another Uchiha? With those questions swirling inside his head, the young man looked up at Itachi, who gave a slight nod, knowing what he had in mind and encouraging him in doing what he wanted to do. Then, after having breathed deeply for a moment, the blond turned to Kisame and Deidara, who were speaking between each other in a animated manner, concern and frustration clearly written on their face.

"Kisame, Deidara," the young man began to say, getting the attention of the other two, "There is something I need to talk to you about."

Naruto then began to tell them exactly everything he knew and what had happened that night when he had met that guy named Tobi.

Not far from there, in a room that Pein used to receive the Akatsuki members when they had to talk about diverse of things or if one member had an issue he wanted to talk about. Right now, Pein was standing in front of a sitting Madara, Konan standing next to him while Zetsu stood next to the masked man like some faithful dog next to its master.

"I just received information from Zetsu that Konoha is on the move. They discovered that we were in Amegakure and sent three men to come here." The masked man said, looking closely at the orange haired man's face as he added, "Among them are the Sannin Jiraiya and the copy ninja Kakashi Hatake."

"And so? Do you want us to prepare for a confrontation?" Pein asked, his face showing nothing at all.

"No. We are going to move to another hideout that is located in the Gemstone country." Madara told him, "You need to get everything ready and tell everyone to be ready to leave tomorrow. The group from Konoha should arrive in three days so we have no time to waste."

"If I didn't know better I would think you are afraid of the Leaf." Pein commented.

"Keep your opinions to yourself and do as I say." The masked man replied, his sharingan gleaming briefly from the hole of his mask in warning.

"For someone who claims to be the legendary Madara Uchiha, you don't look very confident in front of a threat such as Konoha." The rinnegan holder continued, ignoring the warning of the masked man, "But I guess it's can't be helped as you are not really the real Madara aren't you Tobi?"

A gasp of shock could be heard coming from Konan as she looked at Pein then at the man who proclaimed to be Madara with bewildered eyes.

"What makes you think this?" Tobi asked his only visible eyes creasing as he seemed to scowl.

"I have observed you for long time now. And though you do know everything that has a relation with Madara Uchiha, even the deepest things that only he should know, you are merely a copy of the man. You have no physical mass embedded in this world and you have the ability to present physically in this world only for a short amount of minutes at a time." Pein said his eyes boring into the one of the man in front of him, "My guess would be that you were created. You were created and given a precise goal to achieve. I even believe that it was Madara Uchiha himself who created you. You must have been created a few days before he died, as he must have known that he would die. You are naming yourself Madara only because you don't have a proper name."

"Quite a clever and pertinent reasoning I have to admit. But even if I was just a mere copy as you put it of Madara Uchiha, it doesn't change the fact that you are still no match against me." Tobi said, in a dark voice heavy with strength and danger, "Now I would suggest that you follow my orders and get moving."

The two men stared at each other with fierce intensity; trying to subdue the other, one with his rinnegan swirling in a form of intimidation while the other's showing sharingan blazed in a brighter red than ever. They looked at each other for a moment, waiting for the one who would bend over the other's power first. It went on for a moment before Pein broke the eye contact the first and walked out of the room, without another look at the masked man or his partner, Konan following behind him, looking glad to leave the room.

"What are you going to do Nagato?" Konan asked, walking next to her childhood friend.

"I don't know yet Konan." The orange haired man replied, "But I think we have given our allegiance to the wrong person. Now the only thing left to do is to see what the person in which I have now decided to put my faith will do and see if he will keep the promise he has made to us."

"A promise?" Konan repeated confused before she remembered the words.

'_I will become the hokage and I will make sure there's peace in Amegakure too. Believe it!'_

Konan smiled slightly in remembrance of the words. Naruto Uzumaki had sure made an important promise there. Now the only thing left to do was wait and see if he would uphold to it. However Nagato was not playing completely honestly with the young man, and though she knew he was ashamed of the condition in which he was right now, if her best friend wanted to create at least a bond of mutual respect and trust with the blond jinchuriki, Naruto had the right to see who hid behind the man who was calling himself Pein.

The very next day, you could see all the Akatsuki members with bags on their shoulder, ready to leave. Nagato and Konan had left earlier under the pretense that they wanted to arrive earlier to the hideout to make sure it was safe and livable. Though of course the truth was completely different, as Nagato didn't want the others to see his true form and the six Peins in their coffin like box. Naruto was under the surveillance of the other members who of course looked more like travel companions than guards as they joked and laughed together. At some point the three men had thought about helping Naruto to run away and make a quick detour to the path toward Konoha to meet with the team that was supposedly coming to save Naruto but their brilliant idea had dissolved into thin air the moment Zetsu appeared, claiming that they would do the journey with them. Of course the freak had to refer to both the white Zetsu and the black Zetsu as two entities even though they were only one body. Throughout the entire journey, the atmosphere was tense and nobody dared to speak, even less to ask why Tobi was suddenly not part of the organization anymore.

When they finally arrived, they each separated to go put their stuff down and make themselves at home in their new quarters, Itachi leading Naruto to the room that would be his new 'cell', this time taking him to a room where there was already a bed and even an adjacent bathroom. Later that day, it was beginning to get near dinnertime when someone knocked at the door of Naruto's 'cell'. Curious at who it could be as the blond knew that though Itachi knocked he entered the room almost immediately after, while the person who had just knocked was actually waiting for the young man to allow the person to come in or not, Naruto told the person on the other side to enter. Konan entered the room, making the young man look at her with surprise and curiosity.

"Naruto Uzumaki, there is something I would like to show you." The blue haired kunoichi told him before turning around and telling him, her head turned to glance at him past her shoulder, "Follow me please."

Curious about what the woman wanted to show to him, Naruto followed her, not saying one word during the whole time, which surprised even him as he normally would ask a ton of questions on the way. But this time he felt that this was an important solemn matter where he would discover everything in due time, as it also looked like what the female member of the Akatsuki was doing was something unprecedented and was a sign of real trust toward him. Suddenly, after a moment of walking into the corridors of the hideout, they finally stopped in front of a door of one of the highest room of the base building. Konan opened the door and walked in the room with Naruto before closing the door quickly behind them. She then took the blond to another door from which hushed voices could be heard discussing. When Naruto entered the other room and looked around, he saw Itachi standing in the middle of the room, talking to a very emaciated man with red hair, who looked to be in a mechanical walker. The state of the man was just awful, but what shocked the blond even more were the huge black rods that were embedded into his back. At the sound of the blonde's entrance, the two men turned their head toward him.

"What are you doing here Naruto?" Itachi asked in his usual deep neutral voice, his face as blank as ever though you could see his eyes blazing in a way that demanded answers.

"I uh… I…" the young man stuttered at a loss for words as he didn't know what to say.

"Konan what is the meaning of this?" the red haired man asked in a deep raucous voice, his oddly spiraled eyes, much like the ones Pein had, looking at the approaching blue haired kunoichi.

"He has the right to know Nagato." Konan replied, looking back at her childhood friend in the eyes, though her face and voice were as soft as ever, "If you intend to have faith in him, he should at least have the right to know what your true appearance is."

"Naruto," the woman added, turning to the young man, "this man is called Nagato but you know him better under the name of Pein."

"Pein…" Naruto repeated looking at the man in front of him with an expression of utter shock, "But…what happened to you?"

"This is one of the inconvenient of having the rinnegan eyes," Nagato said reluctantly, throwing a small glare Konan's way, which didn't intimidate the kunoichi at all, "Once you have summoned the demonic statue of the outer path, you are pretty much doomed to look like that. As for my legs, let's just say that it is a reminder of the treacherous trap of Hanzo toward our group."

Naruto looked at Nagato intensely for a few minutes, his face unreadable though a ton of emotions were swarming inside him, not knowing which one was the strongest right now. The past of the man he already knew about added to the physical scars as proofs of such a horrible past only made the reality of things even clearer in the young man's mind. Such a reality saddened him a lot and he could understand even more the state of mind in which the man was. But it still didn't change his mind of the matter. Peace could be achieved without violence and fear. It was his belief and he intended to make it a reality.

"I'm sorry if you didn't want me to see you like this but don't hold resentment toward Konan. She was only doing what she thought was best for you. I'm really glad she took me here." Naruto said, his eyes boring into the rinnegan ones and shining with a fire that neither of the men in front of him had seen before, "And if you think I'm going to pity you, you are mistaking. If anything, I'm admiring you. All this pain you suffered was for your friends. And there is nothing more honorable than to fight and be injured for the sake of the ones you love."

Astonished by the blonde's speech, both Nagato and Itachi looked at the young man standing in front of them with a slightly awed expression.

"I know I already said it but…you are really an odd kid Naruto Uzumaki." Nagato said in a voice so low that Naruto barely caught what he had said.

"I know." The young man replied with a proud grin, taking the remark as a compliment before his face took on a curious expression, a slight frown adorning his features, "Now I do have one question. Why are you here Itachi-nii?"

The Uchiha threw a glance at Nagato who glanced back at him with a meaningful look on his face, apparently having a mute conversation between them. Then, as they seem to have reached an agreement, Itachi turned his gaze back the blond.

"We were looking at a plan to take you back to Konoha." The long dark haired man said in his soft deep voice.

Three days later, back at the hideout in Amegakure, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Yamato were searching high and low into the base with no success for any trace of Naruto. Thanks to the information that Jiraiya had gathered, the three men had been able to find the hideout of the Akatsuki and to break in. However, they soon discovered that the organization had already left the base and had obviously taken Naruto with them, which was good in a way as it meant that the blond was still alive. Right now, they had just finished checking the last room of the hideout and were feeling quite down as Amegakure had been the only chance they had had. In frustration, Kakashi, unable to keep his emotions in check anymore for the moment, punched with all his might the nearest wall to him.

"Kuso!" the silver haired man cursed in a low pained voice, his heart clenching painfully at the idea that they might have missed their only chance to rescue Naruto.

"Do you think they could have known that we were coming?" Yamato asked, turning to the white haired Sannin with a concerned expression on his face.

"If they did, then that means that they must have spies within Konoha." The toad sennin said, scowling at nothing in particular as he thought about the possibility of a spy within their forces.

"Impossible." Kakashi argued with a shake of his head, "Apart from us three and Tsunade, nobody was informed about our plan."

"Well it doesn't change the fact that they somehow learned about what we were going to do." Jiraiya replied.

"So what are we going to do now? Judging on how they left, leaving nothing behind them, it seems like they have more than one hideouts." Yamato said, his eyes scanning the room as he analyzed the situation before looking at the Sannin as he asked, "Jiraiya-sama, do you have any other information about where they could be now?"

"Unfortunately no." the white haired man replied with an upset expression, "The only information I had managed to gather were about the fact that the orders were coming from Amegakure and that most of the Akatsuki's actions had happened in the vicinity of the hidden village's area, so I had assumed that this was their base."

For a moment, the three men stayed quiet, as each of them was thinking about the situation they were in and what they should do next.

"Wait a moment…" Kakashi suddenly said, startling the others as he remembered something, "While you were away to train Naruto, Jiraiya-sama, there had been news of Akatsuki activities in the Gemstone country."

"I remember! At this time some ANBU members had been dispatched there to see what was going on but they had never come back." Yamato exclaimed as he remembered as well, "And just as Tsunade-sama had been about to send more men and maybe organize an operation to find them and kill them, any sign of activity had stopped and nobody got a sight of them in the country anymore."

"So that means that…" Jiraiya said I thoughtfully, looking up at Kakashi.

"That means that the Akatsuki most probably has another hideout in the Gemstone country." Kakashi said with a nod of his head to accompany his statement.

"Well then we should get going immediately." Jiraiya replied with a frown, "The Gemstone country is rather far and we will have to gather information to discover where the hideout is."

Before leaving, they decided to write a quick message to Tsunade, telling her that Amegakure had been a failure but that they were now on their way to the Gemstone country where they suspected the Akatsuki had another base. After having done that, the three men left as silently the hidden village as they had infiltrated it and began to head for the Gemstone country, running full speed in hopes that this time they would be able to catch them.

Back at the hideout where the Akatsuki now was, Naruto was calmly heading down toward the kitchen to fix himself a little snack, as he was hungry. These days, he felt like he was tired all the time, taking two to three naps during the day, which was rather unusual for him, and eating more than usual. Konan had told him that it was because he was pregnant. The young man still had a hard time realizing he was pregnant. It was so surreal and wonderful at the same time. He had never thought of having children, and he had thought he still had time before even the thought of contemplating having children appeared in his mind. He hadn't even known he was able to conceive, and if he had known he was sure that he and Kakashi would have used contraception. Of course he was glad to soon be a parent, but if he had known he could become pregnant he would have made sure to decide when he wanted to be impregnated. But what was done was done and now he couldn't wait to meet the little being that was growing inside him right. But first of all he really needed to get out of here and get back to Konoha and be with Kakashi once again.

As he walked through the different corridors to get to the place he wanted, the young man suddenly thought back at the conversation he had had with Nagato and Itachi two days ago.

_Flashback_

"You are working on a plan to get me out of here?" the blond said, as he looked at the two men in front of him in slight surprise.

"It seems that Konoha will not be able to recue you as easily as we thought with Tobi having Zetsu keeping an eye on the Leaf's movements." Nagato explained, "They are never going to be able to take you back if they can't get to where we are before we already left."

"The only way to outsmart Tobi is if the help comes from inside the organization." Itachi added in supply to Nagato's explanation.

"But…that would mean that you are betraying the Akatsuki." Naruto said with a frown.

"The majority of us doesn't agree with the organization's actions anymore so it doesn't really bother any of us." Nagato replied, "I'm sure Kisame and Deidara will be more than happy to help out and Itachi and myself as well as Konan have already chosen which side we wished to be on."

Naruto turned his head back to look at the only female member of the organization, who gave him a warm smile along with a nod as a confirmation. Looking back at Itachi and Nagato, the blond smiled at them, gratitude and happiness shining in his eyes. They then spent the next hours before dinner talking and thinking of how they could proceed.

_End of flashback_

Suddenly, Naruto heard voices coming from a room nearby from where he was heading, and by the sound of it the persons talking were having an argument. His natural and insatiable curiosity winning over the fact that it wasn't polite to listen on people's conversations, the blond pressed himself against the wall of the room from which the voices could be heard, just next to the room's door.

"Don't do it Itachi-san." The voice of Kisame could be heard pleading.

"I don't know what you are talking about Kisame." Itachi replied, sounding distant.

"Cut the bullshit!" the shark like man suddenly roared, making Naruto jump startled by the sudden anger in the voice of the swordsman, "I know very well that you intend to meet your brother and let him kill you."

Naruto had to put a hand on his mouth to muffle the shocked gasp that came out of him from hearing that Itachi wanted to be killed by his own brother.

"You don't know anything." The Uchiha replied, his voice becoming cold and even more distant than before.

"Oh but I do. You don't think I've noticed how whenever your little brother is mentioned; your eyes become alight for a second huh? This is one of the only time you become a tiny bit alive, when your brother is mentioned." Kisame replied with a growl, his voice reflecting his frustration and showing how upset he was about the whole thing, "You know what I think? I think this whole reason about letting your brother live because he was not worth your time is a load of crap. You are just so haunted by the things you did that you wanted to make sure there would be someone to kill you."

Naruto's heartbeat went faster as the conversation went on. Did Itachi really wanted to die so bad?

"What about us Itachi-san?" the young man then heard Kisame ask in a whisper, sounding weary, "Did you think about who you would leave behind? What about Naruto? We need you if we want to get him out of here and back to Konoha."

"You'll only need me until a certain point." Itachi replied, his voice sounding softer but still firm and distant, "As soon as we are sure that Naruto-kun is out of danger, you won't need me anymore to take him back to Konoha. When this is over I will go my own way."

"Itachi-san you can't!..." the shark like man began to protest once again but was interrupted by Itachi.

"Kisame!" the long dark haired man said forcefully, before his voice got softer as he added, "I am dying. This is a reality. And whether it is by the hands of my brother or by Death itself is not important. In every case, I will soon not be from this world anymore."

The young man's heart stopped for a moment at hearing that. Itachi was dying…how could this be? Such a strong shinobi…

"Itachi…" Kisame said, his voice sounding filled sadness, unconsciously dropping the respectful suffix he always used only for the Uchiha in his pain.

"You don't need to feel sorry for me Kisame." The Uchiha told him.

"I don't feel sorry for you." Kisame replied growl, "Haven't you thought about others' feelings? What about my feelings huh? Don't you think I will feel sad that you are gone?"

"Kisame…" Itachi said, sounding at a loss for words.

"I don't want to lose you Itachi." The swordsman told him brokenly, his voice seeming so unusually weak that it shocked the blond for a moment to hear this big strong man be like that.

Sensing it was becoming much too personal and wanting to let them have a real private moment, Naruto walked away from where he had been standing and walked back to his room, having lost his appetite as he thought about what Itachi intended to do. Tsk! If the man thought he would get away so easily, he was sorely mistaking! As Kisame had said: what about the others huh? The dark haired Uchiha's choice was selfish! Didn't he think about how those who stayed would feel? There was no way Naruto would let him get to his brother to meet his death. He would keep him with them even he had to fight him and knock him unconscious to get him to come with them. Then, he would find a way to save him from whatever disease was killing him with the help of Tsunade-baasan. If the Uchiha thought he would get away with leaving them and dying, he had another coming.

A few days later, Naruto along with Itachi and Kisame could be seen in the common room watching TV. At first sight, you could think that everything was normal, but if you looked more closely, you could see that Kisame and Naruto looked more alert than usual. Today was the day that the Akatsuki had decided to put their plan to get Naruto out of here into action. The day before, after having made sure that Deidara and Kisame could be trusted and were in the same state of mind as the others, the two of them were taken to Nagato's room and presented to the real him. Their face had been quite comical at discovering the real body of the person they had called 'leader' for so long but they had soon recovered and had accepted, though with difficultly, the whole truth. For days now, they had taken turns and had stored away stuff they would take with them for their journey to Konoha with Naruto. Especially considering that the young man was pregnant, they had had to make sure to have everything so that their journey would as comfortable as possible for the blond. Despite the problem with his legs, Nagato had decided that he could come as well and follow Naruto as he didn't expect anything more from the Akatsuki that was directed by Tobi. Though his legs were unable to move fast enough in case of battle to let him be of use in such a case, he could still stand by himself and run with the help of someone supporting his weight.

Therefore, Konan and Nagato, along with Deidara, had left just a few hours earlier to the nearest village where their stuff had been stored to make the latest preparations and were now waiting for the three others into the forest that surrounded the hideout. Then suddenly, Itachi stood up, not saying anything or even glancing to the other two and began to leave the room, then Naruto and Kisame stood up as well and began following him silently. They went to the Uchiha's room and locked it behind them. Kisame then took the chakra suppressing collar from the blonde's neck. Meanwhile Itachi went to his wardrobe from which he took out another Akatsuki cloak before throwing it at Naruto who put it on before the latter transformed into Deidara. After having checked that they were ready, they left the long dark haired man's room and walked down the corridor toward the base's entrance. Once outside, Itachi threw a glance at his two companions before looking back in front of him.

"Let's go." He said, getting a nod from the other two before they took off, slaloming between the trees as they ran.

They soon arrived to the meeting point where Deidara, Konan and Nagato were waiting for them. Apart from Naruto, whom had undone his jutsu and was now back to his old self, and Nagato, they each took a bag containing scrolls in which they had sealed all the things they were taking with them and then began to move into the woods, beginning their journey to Konoha while staying alert for any suspicious signs of enemy or of being followed. Some of them were running on ground, while others from jumping from trees to trees to cover the others from high up and look out for attacks or traps. As they were approaching the border of the Gemstone country with the Rice Field country, they suddenly felt a group of three men approaching in their direction, making them stop abruptly and getting into a defense formation. Deidara and Itachi, who had been the ones jumping from tree to tree, quickly went to the ground and formed a defensive circle around Naruto and Nagato along with Kisame and Konan, waiting for the approaching group of person to get to them, while staying attentive to see if anyone was coming from other sides. Whether they were enemies or not was unknown yet, but they were prepared for anything.

As the seconds passed, they waited with anticipation for them to arrive, their kunais drawn and their bodies having adopted a threatening posture. Then, the first person quickly followed by the other two, arrived to the place where they were. Those three persons appeared to be Kakashi, Jiraiya and Yamato. For a moment, the group from Konoha tensed and adopted a equal threatening pose while the other group slightly relaxed, though they still kept their kunais in hand just in case the group in front of them attacked them suddenly without waiting for words. Then Itachi and Kisame, who had been the ones directly facing them, were pushed a bit roughly on the side as a blond head stuck itself out from between them, as Naruto, who had recognized Kakashi's chakra instantly, searched the lanky man frantically with his eyes before spotting him. As soon as he had spotted him, the young man ran to the man before jumping on him to smother him into an overwhelming embrace, causing the older man to stagger, almost losing his balance at the force of the hug.

"Kakashi!" the blond exclaimed, tears of joy shining in his eyes as he hugged his lover fiercely.

"Oh thank you Kami, Naruto you are alright!" The silver haired jonin said, his own voice slightly shaky, kissing every inch of the young man's face adoringly through his mask, his arms tightening around the blonde's frame.

"You came! You came! I'm so happy to see you! I've missed you so so so much! Kurama said you'd come but I couldn't help but feel worried!" Naruto babbled happily, tears now rolling down his cheeks, as he furrowed his head in the crook of the older man's neck, inhaling deeply the scent of his lover.

Though he didn't know who this 'Kurama' was, the jonin let it go for now, concentrating on the fact that he had now his blond back, in his arms, alive and well. While the two men were having their emotional reunion, completely ignoring the others as they solely focused on each other, Jiraiya and Yamato approached the now ex Akatsuki members, looking at them cautiously.

"Thank you for helping Naruto escape." Jiraiya said with gratitude, his eyes scanning the men in front of him before they landed on Konan and looked at her with attention before a small smile etched itself on his face, "My my! You have grown into quite a beautiful woman Konan. It's hard to believe that you were my cute little student once upon a time. I always thought you were dead but in fact you were in the Akatsuki."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about Jiraiya-sensei." The deep voice of Nagato said as he stepped forward with difficulty, next to Konan, whom immediately wound her arm around his torso to support him.

"Nagato?..." the toad sennin said, his eyes wide as he looked at the emaciated look of his former student and the rods that were sticking out of his back, shocked at seeing him in such a state, "What happened to you?"

"I believe now is not the time to speak of things like these and reminisce about the past." Itachi intervened, throwing a meaningful look at Nagato, who looked to be about to reply to the Sannin while scowling at him slightly, "We should get going and head to Konoha where we'll be sure Naruto-kun will be safe."

"I agree with Itachi." Yamato said, "We don't know if somebody hasn't followed any of us and might attack at any moment. Once in Konoha, we will have all the time we want to straighten everything out."

"Although, there is one thing I would like to straighten out right now." Kakashi said as he released Naruto from his hug, though he took one of the blonde's hand in his, not letting go of it while he looked at the former Akatsuki members straight in the eyes, "What is it you are expecting from having rescued Naruto?"

"Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed looking at his lover indignantly for asking such a question to the people he had come to care about and consider friends.

The silver haired jonin paid no mind to the young man's furious expression and kept his eyes on the rogue nins in front of him. For a moment they all looked at each other intensely before Deidara broke the silence and therefore the silent staring battle.

"Tch! You've got one hell of a protective lover there Naruto!" the blond bomber commented with a snort, "And here I thought Itachi had been like a mother hen, but this guy is ten times worse un!"

At this, the rest of the Akatsuki snickered, trying to stop themselves from laughing too openly.

"Hmm that may be true Deidara but you would understand why I'm with him if you had seen him naked. He is a real killer in bed." Naruto replied slyly with a roguish grin.

This time, the former Akatsuki members laughed out loud, along with Jiraiya while Yamato looked between amused and uncomfortable at having heard this about his sempai, while Kakashi's became beetroot red and stuttered in mortification.

"Oh man come on! I didn't need to have the visual image of Kakashi Hatake and you doing things un!" Deidara exclaimed, making a face of disgust.

"Alright guys let's stop fooling around and let's lift Kakashi-san's concerns and get going. It's not really safe to stay on the same spot like that after all." Kisame said, as he was the first one to regain composure from laughing, before he turned to the silver haired jonin with a serious expression, "As crazy as that might seem to you, we all here consider Naruto as family so to speak. He is like a brother to us and we are ready to die to protect him from any danger that might appear."

"That's true! All we want is to be able to stay with the brat and watch over him un." Deidara added, "There is no future anymore for us in the Akatsuki and none of us have somewhere we belong un."

As Kakashi looked at the former Akatsuki members, each of them nodded at him in agreement, all looking serious and honest as they stared back at the lanky jonin. Reassured by their response, the silver haired man nodded as well in recognition and turned to Naruto.

"Let's go home." He told the young man with a smile, squeezing softly his hand that he had never let go of.

"Yeah." The blond replied with a smile of his own, taking off once again toward Konoha, their hands staying linked together.

There were a lot of things Naruto wanted to tell Kakashi and that were needed to be talked about, but they would have all the time to do so once in Konoha and so, as they crossed the border between the Gemstone and Fire country, the blond just enjoyed feeling the hand of his lover intertwined with his as the contact of being with Kakashi that he had craved for the last three weeks was finally there.

_TBC_

**Here you go everyone! Naruto is finally out of the Akatsuki's grip and so are its former members. :) What did you think of this chapter?**

**Nagato's hypothesis about Tobi is actually mine. I think it's rather plausible but I could be wrong. ^^**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Right now I'm living in Liverpool for an internship and the place where I live has a really low internet connection so it takes me forever to do anything on the internet and it often shuts itself off so the update pace might be hindered by it.**

**Next time, everything will be revealed...well at least concerning what Nagato knows as well as the wonderful news that Naruto has in store for Kakashi. hehehe =P **

**See ya!**

**PS: For those of you who might like the pairing Kakashi x Iruka, I have just posted a little one shot on those two ****called _Predestined._** It hasn't a deep story or is unpretentious, but it should be rather cute.


	29. Back at Konoha

The journey back to Konoha was, from Kakashi's point of view, one of the weirdest one he had ever done. Being used to have always fought the Akatsuki, seeing those rogue ninjas that were known to be among the strongest and cruelest ninjas acting all protective and attentive toward Naruto was making the jonin feel a bit thrown back and confused. They were all acting like one big family in which Naruto would be the small brother that is protected by his older brothers. He didn't know what had happened during the month of Naruto's captivity, but the blond had seemed to succeed in making friends with the majority of the members of the organization. Once again, the young man had managed to impress the silver haired man by achieving what Kakashi would have thought impossible. But then again, the proof was right here in front of his eyes. He just hoped that those new found friends would become allies to the village, and it seemed to be the feeling of his two other companions as well, as Jiraiya and Yamato kept glancing at the odd group of former Akatsuki members who were right now talking with Naruto in a relaxed manner.

Soon, the main road that was leading to Konoha's entrance appeared in front of them and the group began to run on it, beginning to see the big gates of the village's entrance. But then suddenly, Itachi made a U turn and began to run in the opposite direction before anyone could react. However, Kisame and Naruto seemed to have anticipated such behavior and they both ran after him and effectively stopped him with one of Kisame's jutsu, creating an impenetrable wall of water to stop the Uchiha in his run while Naruto placed himself in front of the long dark haired man, placing himself effectively in front of Itachi with his arms spread to prevent him from taking another step, dead set on stopping him bodily if he had to. He had not managed to stop one Uchiha from leaving, he would make sure to stop at least this one no matter what.

"Let me pass Naruto-kun." Itachi told the blond with his deep calm voice, his face as impassive as usual, no emotion transpiring from him.

"I can't do that Itachi-nii." Naruto replied, while Kisame came next to him in support to try and stop Itachi from leaving.

"Let me pass." The Uchiha repeated in a firmer voice.

"No! I know you are going to go meet Sasuke and let him kill you!" the young man said in almost a yell, his eyes looking straight into the eyes of the other man.

At hearing this, the crowd that was watching the scene upholding in front of them gasped slightly in shock, realizing Itachi had been intending on leaving them and going to meet his death.

"I won't let you do that! No matter what you did in the past I won't let you die like this!" Naruto told the Uchiha, his eyes burning with a passion and a determination that resembled the one he had when he was thinking of bringing peace to this world, "You have been so nice toward me during the last few weeks. I really consider you like a friend, like…the big brother I never had…so don't you dare go die when I am going to need all of you in the next few months!"

By now, the young man had tears rolling down his cheeks and his hands were balled into fists. Those tears seemed to be the demise of Itachi's resolve as he now looked uncomfortable at seeing the blond crying, not knowing how to react to this.

"Itachi," Kakashi began to say, making the Uchiha turn to look at him, "Tsunade-sama told me the real reason of the Uchiha clan's massacre. It was an order given to you by Hanzo and the elders and you had no choice but to obey. So you need to know that the Godaime has cleared your name and you are no longer considered a murderer. You have a chance to start anew there."

"The memories of a place do not go away on a whim Kakashi-san." Itachi replied, glancing briefly at the silver haired jonin who looked genuine in his statement.

"Then why not create other memories to replace them?" Kisame proposed, speaking for the first time since he and Naruto had begun to run after the Uchiha, looking intensely at the long dark haired man.

"Kisame…" Itachi said, his aloof mask breaking for a second as he looked at the shark like man who looked back at him with such intensity that a pink hue seemed to appear on his cheekbones and made Naruto grin happily at the sight of the Uchiha showing his emotions much more than usual, though he was sure that the man must be glad that only him and Kisame could see his face right now.

A winning grin began to spread on Kisame's face as he saw Itachi's expression, looking rather predatory with all his pointy teeth showing, though looking just happy as he got nearer from the Uchiha and hugged him into his arms before he whispered something to him that no one else apart from the long dark haired man heard. But, when Naruto saw the face as well as the frame of Itachi relax into the embrace and seemed to smile slightly, the blonde's smile got wider and understood that they had managed to convince the Uchiha to stay. They had won and now they would all be together and that was what mattered to the young man.

"Yosh!" Naruto exclaimed, as Kisame and Itachi got away from each other, stepping back from their hug, pumping excitedly his fists in the air, "Now let's go to Konoha and all go to Ichiraku and have some ramen to celebrate!"

Everyone chuckled at the blonde's antics and begun once again to head to the entrance's big gates of Konoha, deciding to walk this time as they knew that there were almost no chance of someone attacking them now.

The arrival at the village's entrance was rather comical for the group. As they were walking past the gates, the two guards in post there, who were Kotetsu and Izumo, freaked out at seeing so many Akatsuki cloaks, not noticing the others and only focusing on the Akatsuki cloak wearing persons. They quickly placed themselves in front of the group, facing them in a threatening stance, kunais in hand.

"What is the Akatsuki doing here?" Kotetsu demanded, his body tense as he looked nervously at the rogue ninjas.

"Don't worry they are not a threat." Jiraiya said, stepping up to make himself known of the two guards.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Kotetsu and Izumo exclaimed at the same time, relaxing slightly at seeing the Sannin.

"Oi oi! Don't say that we are not a threat un!" Deidara replied with a pout before looking at the two chunins with a scary grin, "If we had wanted to those two wouldn't even be alive anymore un."

At the look the blond was giving them, Kotetsu and Izumo tensed again and prepared for an attack. But the person who really scared the hell out of them was Kisame, who looked at them a predatory grin.

"Deidara is right. If we wanted, we could break those two in half like twigs." The shark like man added, taking a step toward the poor two chunins who took a step back defensively.

"Deidara, Kisame, that's enough." Nagato intervened, giving a chastising look at both of the men who were having fun scaring the two guards, "Seriously, you are worse than kids."

"Sorry." Deidara and Kisame said under their breath in apology, though they still winked at each other with a snicker at the prank they had done.

Kotetsu and Izumo now looked completely confused while Kakashi, Jiraiya and Yamato looked to hesitate between disapproving the prank and laughing at the whole thing. Naruto and Konan looked like they were restraining from laughing, while Itachi and Nagato were looking with severity at the two prankster who didn't seem sorry at all for what they had just done.

"We want the village and its people to accept us so you better behave yourself if you want to become part of it." Itachi told the two sternly, making the latter two look a bit sheepish at this.

"Hai." They replied in a mumble, this time looking properly chastised.

"I suppose we have to see Tsunade-baachan before being able to go home right?" Naruto asked rhetorically with a weary sigh, feeling really tired after their journey and wanting nothing more than to fall unconscious on his bed for a few hours.

"Yes we have. Why? Are you tired?" Kakashi asked, worried about the blonde's unusual behavior.

It had taken them two days to get to Konoha and they had stopped at night to rest and Naruto had slept through the whole night, Kakashi taking his surveillance round to let the young man sleep. Now it was early afternoon and the fact that the normally energetic blond felt tired bothered the silver haired man a lot.

"A bit." Naruto mumbled with a slight pout.

"Do you want one of us to carry you?" Itachi proposed, "After all we did mostly run all the way here. It must have put a great strain on your body."

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried to hurry so much." Kisame said with a concerned voice as he looked at the blond.

Kakashi looked at the former Akatsuki members fussing around Naruto with a frown. What were they talking about? What was going on?

"Don't worry I'm fine." The blond replied, beginning to walk again, "Let's just go to baachan's office and get this over with."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Deidara told him, sounding slightly angry at the other blond, "Let one of us carry you!"

"But…" the young man was about to argue, but before he could say anything he felt himself be swooped up, his feet leaving the ground, and being carried princess like by Itachi.

"No buts. Let's go to Tsunade-sama's office and then you'll go rest at your home." The Uchiha said in a firm tone, beginning to walk down the road to the Hokage tower.

"What the hell? Put me down Itachi!" Naruto exclaimed with anger, thrashing into the arms of the long dark haired man to get free but with no success, then he turned to Kisame and Deidara for help, "Guys! Make him let go of me!"

"Sorry kiddo," Kisame replied with a slightly amused smirk though he still looked rather serious, "it's for your own good."

"Naruto," Itachi whispered harshly, in a voice low enough so that only the blond could hear him, "You can't be selfish, you need to think about the life growing inside of you."

At these words, the young man's body became lax as he reluctantly agreed to be carried.

"Then can you at least carry in a less embarrassing manner?" Naruto asked in a sulk, making the Uchiha smirk amusedly.

"Sure." Itachi agreed, putting the blond down before putting his travelling bag next to him and getting on his knees, "Get on my back."

But before Naruto could do such a thing, Kakashi stepped up to the two with a scowl directed toward Itachi.

"I'll do it." He intervened, getting on one knee and waiting for Naruto to climb on his back, throwing a glance at the blond to show him that he would the one to carry him to the Hokage's office.

Without a word, Itachi stood back up and watched Naruto climb on the silver haired man's back before the lanky jonin stood back up, holding securely the blonde's legs so that he didn't fall with an amused glint in his eyes and went back to Kisame's side before the two men exchanged a knowing glance. It seemed like Kakashi had hard time seeing Naruto being so close to other people. Jiraiya shook his head in slight amusement and exasperation at the jonin's behavior while the others just looked amused at this bout of possessiveness. They then once again began to head to the Hokage tower.

Once they arrived in front of the hokage's office, Jiraiya knocked on the door before opening it.

"That's rather unusual for you to knock Jiraiya." Tsunade said while signing off papers, her eyes still fixed on the papers, having not looked up yet, adding with a threatening tone, "I expect that if you are back without having notified me so, that means that you have found Naruto and had to hurry back here."

"Crap I knew we had forgotten something…" the frog sennin swore under his breath as he realized they had forgotten to inform Tsunade about the former Akatsuki members and how exactly they had found Naruto.

"What do you…What the hell?" the blonde hokage exclaimed as she saw the former Akatsuki members as well as Naruto, who was still wearing the Akatsuki cloak he had borrowed, carried on Kakashi's back.

"Calm down baachan, we'll explain everything to you." Naruto intervened as he got off Kakashi's back and went to sit in the chair in front of Tsunade's office, plopping down on it, looking like he just wanted to get over with all this very quickly and go sleep.

Though the female medic-nin wanted to berate the young man for calling her an old woman she refrained herself as she saw that the blond looked quite tired and decided to listen to his story. Then Naruto, along with Itachi and Nagato who filled in the blanks of what the young man didn't know, began to explain exactly what had happened from the moment the kidnapping of Naruto had been ordered until now, excluding the information of Naruto being pregnant, knowing that Naruto didn't want Kakashi to learn the news like this and respecting the blonde's wish. Tsunade listened intently without interrupting them the whole time, frowning at what she learned. After Naruto and the two others were done explaining everything, the blonde hokage stayed silent for a moment, as her thoughts went a hundred miles per hour, looking at all the implications and ramifications of this affair.

"So this Tobi…" she began to say, a concentrated look on her face, "according to you Nagato, this man has some sort of link with Madara."

"More exactly I think he might be some copy of the man himself that he must have made right before he died so that in a way he wasn't completely dead." The red haired man replied with a nod.

"Such a thing seems so impossible…" Tsunade said more to herself than anyone, gnawing on her lip in a thoughtful manner, as she didn't know how to feel about all this.

"Not if you have the rinnegan." The rinnegan holder told her, looking at the female hokage directly in the eyes as the woman wiped sharply her head to look at him with wide eyes.

"What do you mean by that? As far as I know Madara Uchiha couldn't have had the rinnegan since he already had the sharingan." The blonde medic-nin said with a scowl.

"There is a rumor, funded on more than one testimony, that Madara had activated the rinnegan not long before he died." Nagato said.

"I've heard this rumor." Jiraiya intervened with a thoughtful expression as he thought back of when he had heard this, "I think it is a rather high probability that this rumor is true. There is too much smoke about it to have no fire."

"Right now, the Akatsuki is no more as we deserted it. However, Tobi still has Zetsu, who was created with cells of Hashirama Senju." Nagato added gravely, making most of the assistance gasp at this news, "Though right now he finds himself slightly weakened, he will quickly recover. He might have anticipated such an eventuality as us leaving and has already a back up plan."

In frustration, Tsunade began to gnaw at her thumb while registering and thinking about all the things she had just learned.

"Alright I understand the situation. This is not ideal but I'm rather glad we have new allies." The blonde hokage said, as she looked the former members of the Akatsuki with a slight smile before a frown reappeared on her face as she added, "Although, there is one part of your explanation I don't really get. Why did Tobi suddenly decide to not extract the Kyubi from Naruto?"

"About that baachan," Naruto intervened, throwing a glance alternatively to each member and lastly to Kakashi, "I would like to talk to you about something later today."

"Is it something serious?" the female medic-nin asked with a frown, looking at the blond intently.

"It depends on how you see things." The young man replied with a nonchalant shrug.

The blonde hokage studied Naruto's face intently, trying to gauge if he was lying or not before letting out a sigh and closing her eyes wearily.

"Alright." She agreed before adding with a critical gaze at the young man, "However you are going to come tomorrow morning instead. You really look like crap so I want you to rest and have a good night's sleep and then we'll talk."

"I don't look like crap! I'm just a bit tired that's all." The blond protested with a pout before a yawn escaped him.

"Well that's the same thing!" Tsunade replied, "Now go home and rest or you'll have to deal with me!"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said with a dismissive wave, having some difficultly to stand on his feet to leave.

All the while, Kakashi had watched his young lover's behavior and was becoming to feel more and more concerned about him. What was wrong with him? And what did this glance he threw at him mean? Was there something he didn't want to say in front of him?

"Kakashi." Tsunade called the jonin's attention, making him turn to look at her, "Go home with Naruto. We can manage here without you."

"You should probably carry the brat home." She added as an afterthought as she looked at the blond having difficulties staying awake, "He would be able to collapse on the way there if you let him walk by himself."

"Hai." Kakashi said with a nod, walking to Naruto and once again dropping on one knee to let Naruto get on his back.

Once Naruto was safely settled on his back, Kakashi decided to go as fast as possible to their apartment by jumping from roof to roof. When they were finally in the apartment, Kakashi went straight to the bedroom where he carefully put down Naruto who went to lie down on the bed.

"I'm sorry Kashi but I'm really tired so we'll have to talk later." The blond said in a low voice, fighting sleep just a bit more for his lover.

"It's alright. We'll have all the time in the world afterward to talk." The lanky man replied, as he suppressed the tons of questions that were swirling into his head for later, and lied down next to Naruto one the bed.

"Thank you." The young man whispered before surrendering to his exhaustion, falling asleep as he felt strong arms encircling him and the scent of his lover enveloping his senses in a warm comforting cocoon.

Later that day, Naruto woke up to the feeling of being observed. Slowly opening his eyes, Naruto found himself face to face with Kakashi, who was looking at him tenderly, his arms around the blonde's frame before he moved one hand to go caress the young man's hair.

"Hey love." The silver haired man said softly with a smile.

"Hey you." Naruto responded with a smile of his own, snuggling into the warmth of his lover, "What time is it?"

"It's almost 8 pm. You've have slept for about 5 hours straight." The jonin said, making the blond pull back and look at him with wide eyes.

"Really?" the young man exclaimed, receiving a nod of confirmation from Kakashi, "Wow... I must have been more tired than I thought…"

"Naruto, what's wrong with you?" the jonin asked, looking intently at the blond, concern clear in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" the blond asked a bit on the defensive.

"It isn't like you to take naps. You are normally so full of energy." Kakashi explained.

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed softly, as he knew that it was time to tell his silver haired lover.

"First let's go prepare ourselves some tea and make ourselves comfortable in the living room." The young man told his lover.

"Alright." The lanky jonin agreed, releasing Naruto from his arms and leaving the bed to stand up.

After having prepared some floral tea, the two men went to sit in the couch, enjoying the silence for a moment, sipping on their tea while Kakashi waited for Naruto to be ready to tell him what he had to tell him.

"Soon after I had been kidnapped," Naruto began, looking down at the contents of his cup of tea while the jonin listened to him attentively, "I had a conversation with Kurama."

'Again this name.' Kakashi thought as he remembered the first time the young man had mentioned this person.

"Who is Kurama?" the jonin asked curiously, making Naruto look up at him at first in confusion before realization hit him.

"Ah that's right you don't know. Sorry, I tend to forget that I'm the only one who knows his name." the blond said sheepishly, "Kurama is the name of Kyubi."

"Kyubi has a name?" the silver haired man said in surprise, taken aback slightly.

'_Sometimes I wonder why you chose him as your mate kit.' Kurama growled in annoyance at the jonin who seemed so surprise that he had a name._

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle out loud at that.

"What's funny?" Kakashi asked confused, wondering why his younger lover was laughing.

"Nothing sorry. It's just Kurama who is annoyed that you are surprised that he has a name." the blond explained, calming down from his small laugh.

"Oh… So you can communicate with him through your mind?" the silver haired man asked rhetorically, more stating this to himself.

"Yep!" the young man replied with a grin, "He is actually really fun when he is not trying to act all scary and antisocial."

'_Brat.' Kurama grumbled through their link, huffing in annoyance, 'Instead of talking about me, you should tell him about the kit growing inside you.'_

'_Right!' Naruto said as he refocused on the most important subject._

"Kakashi." Naruto said in a firm voice, his seriousness making the jonin pay even more attention to him, "That day, Kurama informed me of something that I hadn't thought would ever be possible."

"What is this thing?" Kakashi asked, his voice febrile with anticipation.

"Well you see it is…" Naruto began to say with hesitation.

'_Oh for Kami's sake get on with it!' Kurama exclaimed in annoyance at the young man's cowardice on the subject._

"I'm pregnant." The blond blurted out quickly, his eyes holding concern and hope he watched for the jonin's reaction.

"Huh?" Kakashi said stupidly, looking at Naruto like he hadn't understood him.

"I am pregnant." The young man repeated looking with worry at his lover who looked like a fish out of the water.

"H-how?" the silver haired managed to ask, having a hard time processing the information.

"Well I think we both know how these kind of things work." Naruto replied in a mumble, blushing slightly.

"I know but how?" the lanky jonin insisted, trying to get his point across.

"Oh. Well according to Kurama, having him inside of me gives me some of his physical traits and abilities like the ability to conceive." The blond said, wringing nervously his hands while looking at his lanky lover, before adding in a low soft voice, "Are you disgusted?"

Those last words shocked the silver haired man out of his petrified state.

"What would I be disgusted of?" he asked with a frown.

"Of me." The young man said, explaining as the jonin's eyebrows raised up in surprise and in question, "I'm a freak. I am a male and I am pregnant. You must hate me…"

Kakashi's eyes widened in realization, as he watched his younger lover preparing for rejection. Without a single second of hesitation, the silver haired jonin pulled the blond into a tight embrace, pinning the smaller body to his, each feeling the heart of the other beating through their chest.

"Idiot." Kakashi murmured affectionately, burrowing his face into the curve of the blonde's neck, "How could I ever hate you or be disgusted with you?"

"So it doesn't bother you that I am pregnant?" Naruto asked shyly.

"Of course not! On the contrary, I'm thrilled." The silver haired man replied, pulling back slightly to look at the young man in the eyes, excitation and happiness shining in his eyes, a bright smile stretching on his bare face, "Can you believe it? I'm going to be a father!"

"Really?" the blond asked, a happy smile etching its ways on his face as well as he received a nod from his lover and latched on him, pulling him closer to him into a bone crushing hug, "Oh Kakashi you don't know how happy I am! I was afraid you would think it was unnatural for me to be pregnant and not want to have anything to do with me anymore!"

"Idiot." Kakashi said for the second time in an hour, hugging his blond as fiercely as the latter was.

'_This time I agree with your mate kit.' Kurama commented in a snicker, smirking._

'_Oh shut up.' The blond mumbled at the Nine Tailed beast with a pout, glaring half-heartedly at the demon._

Then Kakashi seemed to realize something as he pulled once again slightly back from the blond to look at him.

"Wait, is that why Tobi decided not to extract the Kyubi from you?" the older man asked with a frown.

"It seems like this." Naruto answered with a frown of his own, "Though I have no idea why. It's not like he is the compassionate type who won't kill someone with child."

Kakashi seemed thoughtful for a few minutes, trying to think of a reason why Tobi would want to keep Naruto alive while he was pregnant. Then it hit him, he couldn't think of another reason and if he were right that would be really bad for not only Konoha and the Fire country but also for all the other countries.

"I think I know the reason why he didn't kill you." The silver haired man said in a horrified whisper.

"What is it?" the blond asked with a worried tone of voice, not liking the expression his lover had right now.

"You said that his only regret was that you weren't bearing the child of an Uchiha right?" the jonin said, receiving a nod of confirmation from the young man, before continuing in a grave voice, "I believe this Tobi wants to use our child in his enterprise to conquer the world."

"Why?" Naruto asked, panic rising in him, not understanding how his child could help the man in his plan.

"Before I explain this to you, I need to tell you about your parents and your heritage." The older man told him with an extremely serious face.

Kakashi then began to explain to the young man everything that had happened between his parents and what kind of persons they had been. He told him all about how Kushina had been the previous jinchuriki of the Kyubi but had released him unintentionally while delivering, allowing Kurama to go attack Konoha before he was stopped by Minato. The jonin told Naruto everything about the incident that night that saw him come into this world, and the young man listened to everything without interruption, concentrating on the matter at hand and keeping the other questions he had aside for later.

"To resume, your clan is a descendant from the Senju clan and you are the Kyubi's jinchuriki. So not only the baby has a high chance to possess your incredible chakra abilities and stamina but it is also constantly exposed to the demon's chakra and grows with it as well, as did you when you were in your mother's womb." Kakashi explained, his mind going a hundred miles an hour as he thought of this hypothesis through and through, "Those two facts are sure to create a strong offspring."

"And mixed with your genes as well it will be even stronger…" the blond added, blanching at the realization before asking in a shaky voice, "B-but, how does he intend to use our baby? It's not like it will be able to use ninjutsu right after it was born."

"A baby begins to create its own chakra around the fifth month inside the mother's womb, and by the time it comes into this world, its chakra core is fully formed." The jonin said, scowling at the ground as his mind went through his reasoning, "The moment where both the mother and the seal holding the Tailed beast is the weakest is when the person goes into labor. This is the perfect time to steal the baby, the mother's chakra while extracting the Tailed beast out."

"So that's what he meant by gaining even more power than he thought he would get…" Naruto murmured, his face terrified as he put his arms on his middle section in a protective way, curling up slightly as if to protect himself.

At seeing this, Kakashi immediately pulled his young lover onto his laps, his arms hugging him tightly against his chest while he rubbed soothingly with one hand the back of the blond, whispering loving and calming things to him as the poor young man whimpered. Naruto was not afraid for himself, but he was afraid for his child's sake. His own life didn't matter but he didn't want this little life that was currently growing inside of him to die.

"Shh baby. You will be safe. I will never let anything happen to you or our child." The silver haired man told him, trying to comfort and reassure him.

"But this guy is so strong…you'll never be able to beat him by yourself." Naruto said in a whimper, fisting desperately the older man's shirt, fearing that he let go he would find himself all alone.

"This is where friends are very useful love. Don't you think that they will want to help to protect you and the baby as well?" The jonin replied with a small reassuring smile, his eyes full of care and love, adding with a smirk and a wink, "And if I recall, we now have a few more allies don't we?"

"You're right." The blond said with a weak smile, "I just can't help but to worry that something might happen. What if…"

"Naruto." The silver haired man said, taking the young man's chin in his hand and turning it in such a way that he could look at his lover straight in the eyes, "You need to trust your friends. You need to trust me. Nobody will let you down. We'll figure something out. I'm sure not even Kurama will let you down."

'_You got that right.' The fox demon replied in a growl, making the young man smile softly at all the willingness and determination he could feel coming from both his lover and Kurama._

"I guess then that I haven't the right to worry huh? Especially with you and Kurama scolding me like that." Naruto said a more genuine smile, his face features easing a bit as his heart warmed up at the words that Kakashi and his demon friend had pronounced.

"Exactly. You just focus on taking care of yourself, and making sure the baby grows well." Kakashi replied with a smile of his own, kissing the blonde's forehead tenderly, before adding as an afterthought with a slight stern voice, "And most of all do not put yourself in any type of stress. Let us worry about everything while you stay relax alright?"

"Understood…papa." The young man said with a teasing smirk, snuggling into the strong warm chest of his lover as he slowly calmed down, hearing and feeling the tremors of the lanky man's heart at the word 'papa' before looking up at him and seeing the man smile a warm happy smile at him while he petted his hair, before adding in a content sigh, "I love you."

"And I you…daddy." The silver haired jonin replied with a wink before leaning down and capturing Naruto's lips into a sweet kiss.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, none of them saying anything, just enjoying the moment of being together and feeling the body heat of the other against them. Naruto was the first one to break the silence by asking a question that Kakashi had known would be coming soon, and he was ready to answer it as well as all the other questions the young man had that he hadn't been prepared to answer 3 weeks ago.

"Ne Kakashi… Why hadn't you told me who my father and my mother were?" Naruto asked with his face still half buried into the other man's chest.

"I think in a way I wanted you to know them for what they had done for you and not for who they were." The silver haired man began to say, still petting absentmindedly the young man's hair, "But now I realize it was a big mistake because this is what we do that makes us who we are, and not telling you about who your parents were was wrong of me. I should have talked to you about them, especially about your mother who has such a special link to you as you both became jinchurikis."

"What about the ANBU? Why did you hide this from me?" the blond asked, a slight hint of hurt could be heard in his voice which made the lanky jonin tighten his arms around the young man's frame, which Naruto interpreted in the wrong way, "I know that what the ANBU do is top secret, I'm not asking you to tell me what you do with them. But I would have liked to know you were part of it. What if something had happened and you were gravely injured or worse dead?"

By now, the jonin could sniffling coming from the young man and he grabbed the blonde's chin and tilted it upward to look at his face on which he could see small tears roll down.

"Oh Naruto I'm sorry. I had never wanted to hide it from you." Kakashi said, his voice pained at seeing the blonde's hurt, as he thought that the jonin didn't trust him, leaning in and kissing the salty tears away from the face of his young lover, "I had been an ANBU member a long time ago and I had had nothing to do with the special corps ever since you were taken away from me. But then Tsunade-sama asked a favor of me and I had to work once again as an ANBU for one mission."

"I had been thinking lately of telling about this part of my past but this is a rather delicate subject that you can't bring up out of the blue so I had been waiting the good moment to tell you about it. Unfortunately, you found out before I could do it myself." The silver haired man added, looking into the young man's blue orbs, his eyes showing all his sincerity, "I just hope you'll forgive me one day for having it hidden it from you."

Looking at the sad puppy face that Kakashi was making right now made Naruto's heart melt and pink crept onto his cheeks before he looked away with a small smile that he was trying in vain to pass for a pout.

"That's really unfair to make this face you know. But alright I'll forgive you." Naruto said, trying to sulk though the corners of his lips kept tugging up, making have a small smile.

"Thank you." The silver haired man said with a soft smile, kissing the blonde's temple sweetly, "Anything else you want to ask me?"

"Yeah… Could you tell me about my parents?" the young man asked as he looked back at the jonin with a hopeful look on his face.

"Sure." The jonin agreed, kissing once more the blond on his temple before getting more comfortable, his young lover doing the same on his laps, his arms never leaving the young man's waist as he began to tell Naruto about his parents.

_TBC_

**And here was one sweet chapter one! I know it didn't exactly have lots of exciting things happening in it or anything but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. ;)**

**Cheers!**


	30. A Time of Decisions

It had now been a week since Naruto had come back to Konoha with some of the members of the Akatsuki and his life had gone back to normal, well as normal as the life of a pregnant young man could be surrounded by powerful and sometimes slightly crazy ninjas. Ever since his discussion with Kakashi, the silver haired jonin hadn't left his side one moment, accompanying him wherever he went, going as far as waiting outside of the bathroom when he went there, which was more and more frequent due to his pregnancy. It was starting to get on Naruto's nerves but no matter what the blond would say, the jonin would keep doing it so the young man had given up trying to tell the silver haired man that he would not disappear and just ignored him as much as possible. The day after his night spent talking together, Kakashi and Naruto had gone to Tsunade to inform the female hokage of the news that Naruto was pregnant. The blond could remember how the moment had been quite hilarious, seeing the face of the old babaa had just been such a moment precious that the young man would have wished to have a picture of. Though not all the time he had spent with Tsunade-baachan had been fun, quite the contrary, but this part had been rather entertaining.

_Flashback _

"You are what?" the blonde medic-nin exclaimed with wide eyes, mouth agape in shock, Shizune looking at the young man with an expression of shock as well next to Tsunade.

"I. Am. Pregnant." Naruto repeated loudly, enunciating each word slowly, an amused smirk on his face at the expression that the female hokage had right now, adding in a snicker as he couldn't resist tease the blonde woman, "You know this is when you have a bun in your oven, that you are popped, etc. I would have thought you would already knew about what pregnant meant baachan."

Kakashi himself seemed to have a hard time refraining laughter in front of the dumbfounded face of his hokage on which a tick of annoyance was forming at Naruto's last remark, thankful for his mask that at least hid his expression a bit.

"Don't make fun of me gaki or I'll make your delivery a living hell." Tsunade threatened with a growl, smirking in victory as she saw the other blond in front of her pale slightly.

"Tsunade-sama! You shouldn't stress a pregnant person like this!" Shizune exclaimed in a chiding tone, looking sternly at her shisho, who had the decency to look slightly sheepish.

"He started it." The female hokage grumbled under her breath though she was heard by everyone before taking on a more serious expression, "Okay so, from what I've heard, the fact that you are pregnant is due to the fact that you are the Kyubi's jinchuriki."

"Kurama." Naruto corrected.

"Huh?" the blonde medic-nin asked in confusion.

"Kyubi's name is Kurama." Naruto told her, his expression serious.

The young man had decided that the Tailed Beast needed to be called by his name and so would everyone who would not call the fox demon by his name.

"Alright. So by having Kurama inside you, you have acquired some of his physical traits correct?" Tsunade said, asking for confirmation.

"Yep!" the young man replied with a nod, adding as an afterthought in a naïve tone, "He said something about being submissive but I didn't really get it."

Tsunade let out an amused snort while Kakashi blushed in embarrassment, even Shizune blushing slightly at hearing this.

"That means that you are the girl in the relationship my dear Naruto." The blonde hokage said, smirking widely as she looked at realization settling in the other blonde's mind.

"What?" the young man squeaked indignantly, "I'm not a girl!"

"Could have fooled me with that noise you just made." The female medic-nin replied in a snicker behind her cup of tea as she took a sip.

But before Naruto could reply anything, Kakashi decided to intervene, placing a calming on the young man's shoulder as he looked at the hokage.

"There is also something else that you should now Tsunade-sama." The jonin said with a grave face, feeling Naruto slightly tense, as the blond knew what he was going to talk about.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked seriously as well as she saw that what the silver haired man was about to tell her was something very important.

Then Kakashi began to tell her everything about how Tobi wanted to use Naruto in his plans to conquer the world and how it was related to his pregnancy, telling her about his hypothesis and exactly what he thought the man had in mind. As he told the female hokage about all this, her face went from shock to anger, her hands balled into fists by the hand of the man's speech.

"That bastard." The blonde medic-nin cursed in a growl, "Whether he is really a part of Madara or even Uchiha or not, he surely seems to be as annoying and crazy as one."

"What should we do about this?" Kakashi asked in a concerned voice, a frown on his face.

"Unfortunately we can't really do anything." Tsunade replied with a sigh, rubbing her temple as she felt a headache emerge, "Konoha and the Fire country can't do anything alone against this man. Even though he has lost about 80% of his manforce, he still looks like he is quite dangerous and we shouldn't just run head down and attack him. We need to be careful."

"What do you recommend then?" the silver haired man asked.

"I think the wisest thing to do is wait and see how it will develop now that the Akatsuki has basically been dissolved now. I will of course have Naruto be with bodyguards all the time to make sure that nothing like the previous happens again." The blonde hokage said, "Are you okay with my plan?"

"Sure, it sounds a reasonable plan." The jonin replied, making the female medic-nin bristle slightly at having her plan called reasonable, before he said in a slight sheepish smile, "I would have one favor to ask of you now Tsunade-sama."

"What do you want?" the Godaime replied, her eyebrows raised in suspicion.

"Could you have a look at Naruto to see how far along he is please?" The silver haired man asked.

"Alright. Though I will want to run some tests as well." Tsunade said before adding with a slight smirk, "After all, it's not every day you see a male pregnancy. I need to get as much information as possible and understand how his body works with baby inside."

A few minutes later, you could hear a shriek going throughout the hospital, making everybody turn their to the direction where the cry had been coming from, all wondering who could have made this noise and why. Not long after, they could see a half naked Naruto running like he was running for his life, with Tsunade, Shizune and a nurse running after him.

"Naruto come back here now!" Tsunade yelled after the blond, a syringe in one of her hand.

"Naruto-kun I promise it doesn't hurt!" Shizune added while running as well.

"Yeah right! And ramen grows on trees!" the young man replied, "Who do you take me for? There is no way I'm letting you near me with this thing!"

"Oh stop being such a baby brat! I thought you were a man! Men are not afraid of needles." Tsunade told him loudly with an exasperated tone, "And if I recall, you weren't making such a fuss before for a needle!"

"That was because every other time I was unconscious!" the blond said, yelling back at the female hokage.

But suddenly, before Naruto could move any further, Kakashi appeared in front of him in a puff of smoke and caught him. Effectively stopping from running away anymore as he took him into his arms to go where the examination room was, the blond kicking and screaming about what a traitor he was and how he would never speak to him again all the way there, making the jonin sigh slightly at the childish attitude of his lover about a simple blood test. Once it was done, Tsunade ran her hands infused with medical chakra over the young man's abdomen, finding that growing speck of foreign chakra that belonged to the baby.

"So? Is everything alright?" Kakashi asked, sounding more nervous than Naruto about hearing their growing child.

"It's growing well and steadily. Though considering the stressful events that have been happening to you in the last month Naruto, I would recommend that you take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy, especially for the next two months as they are the most critical in your baby's formation." Tsunade said, looking with an insistent and stern gaze at the young man lying on the examination table.

"Yeah, yeah. No need to look at me like this." The blond replied grumbling, still sulking slightly at the earlier events with the needle.

The female hokage glared slightly at the young man for his disrespectful tone but let it go, as she knew that right he was rather testy because of the turmoil of his hormones because of the pregnancy.

'Pregnancy mood swings are really a pain but with Naruto it will be even worse.' The blonde medic-nin thought with a sigh, 'I wouldn't want to be in Kakashi's place right now.'

"So how long has Naruto been pregnant now?" Kakashi asked.

"According to my expectations, it would be for a bit more than a month now. When was the last time you had intercourse?" Tsunade asked in her professional way though it didn't stop the two men from blushing like she had said some really dirty word.

"Baachan don't say it like this!" Naruto whined, wriggling in embarrassment, while his lover next to him seemed to agree with him.

"Like what? What did I say?" the blonde medic-nin asked confused, looking at the two men without comprehending what was wrong.

"Intercourse! It's embarrassing!" the young man said uncomfortably.

"Says the person who had sex without a condom and got knocked up." The female hokage replied with a snort looking with exasperation at the two men acting all prude at the S word like it was the dirtiest word ever heard, "I can't believe two grown men, well one more than the other, are acting like two blushing virgins when I talk about sex! You don't get pregnant by playing board games!"

The two men didn't respond anything, looking at the ground in embarrassment, making Tsunade sigh heavily and grumble about men with the maturity of five year olds. After a moment, where Tsunade ran a few more tests on Naruto, the young man looked hesitantly at the female medic-nin, seeming to have something on his mind.

"So hum…can you already say what…sex the baby is?" the blond quickly asked with a slight blush but a curious look on his face.

"Not yet. You'll have to wait another four to five months before knowing." The blonde hokage replied as she wrote notes on a note pad about what she had seen and discovered while examining the young man.

"Oh okay." Naruto said with a thoughtful look on his face as he wondered whether it would be a girl or a boy.

"Normally I would tell you to come see me in two months but since it's a rather exceptional pregnancy, you will come back in one month to monitor the fetus' growth." Tsunade told the blond before turning to Kakashi, "Oh and Kakashi, I'm letting you two weeks break since Naruto is back but after those two weeks you are going back to active duty I that understood?"

"I understand hokage-sama." The silver haired jonin said with a reluctant nod, before adding with a worried tone, "But who will watch over Naruto?"

" There are tons of people who can this." The female hokage replied with a roll of her eyes, adding with a slight amused smirk, "Moreover if I recall we now have 5 former Akatsuki members who would be more than happy to be babysitters for the brat."

At hearing the two talk about him like he wasn't even here, the young man slightly glared at them. Last time he checked he hadn't been invisible. Didn't they know he could hear them? He wasn't handicapped. He didn't to have people assisting him.

"I'm not a kid anymore I don't need babysitters." Naruto said, looking at Tsunade-baachan and his lover with a scowl on his face.

"Seeing how you always get into trouble, I would say you do." Tsunade replied, looking unimpressed by the young man's glare, looking sternly at the other blond as she added, "So you will behave like the good little boy that you are and listen to us. We know what's best for you and your baby."

At this, Naruto grumbled under his breath about overprotective people and how he was old enough to look after himself.

"We will see you in a month then Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said as he bowed to the female hokage, deeming it safer to end the consultation now before the blond medic-nin's temper flared and leave.

"Bye bye babaa!" Naruto said in a mocking tone, insisting heavily on the last word with an evil smirk before sticking out his tongue at her and running away in laughter, making Kakashi give a sheepish smile toward Tsunade before fleeing the room as he could see the hokage's face becoming red in anger.

_End of flashback_

After that, Naruto and Kakashi had spent their week together and had finally moved to the cottage like they had been supposed to before they had their argument and Naruto was kidnapped. The couple had been quite happy to move into this cottage on which they had worked hard on, feeling like they finally had a real home. Moreover, now that Naruto was expecting, they were happy to live in a place where they could raise their child in such an environment, with the garden and the woods next to it. After a week of moving everything and making themselves at home, they had finished creating a comfortable and warm atmosphere into their new home. All the furniture was at its proper place and all the empty boxes were stored in the basement. Now all they had to do was enjoy it.

Right now, Naruto was fixing himself what he had come to call his lunch snack, which consisted of pickles coated with chocolate and tuna sandwich with chopped strawberries and honey in it. It had all started after one day when Kakashi had just prepared lunch and the blond had looked at it with a scowl. The meal had apparently not looked appealing at all to the young man and so Naruto had went on a search for what would look for him to eat. It had taken quite a long time, but a after few different tries, which had made the silver haired man become green at some of the disgusting combinations the blond had tried, the young man had settled on this choice of meal, almost feeding himself out of this exclusively. Whenever Naruto would fix himself lunch and eat, Kakashi would find an excuse to not be near the blond for the next 20 minutes, knowing that if he stayed and saw him eat this he would get sick. And as if the food cravings weren't bad enough, the young man seemed to have gotten a bit more sentimental, as one day the jonin had caught him literally crying over spilt milk. It had taken him hours to calm Naruto down, as he had made the mistake while whispering comforting things to tell him that it was just milk and that it was nothing to crying about, which had sent the young man into a fit, making him cry even more while yelling at Kakashi that he couldn't understand. Since then, every time the blond would look remotely upset, the silver haired man would watch his words very carefully, not wanting to upset his pregnant lover even more.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door and Kakashi went to open the door to reveal the whole group of former Akatsuki members standing there.

"Yo Scarecrow-san!" Deidara threw jovially at the jonin who slightly glared at him while the others snickered at the nickname, "We are here to see the little princess!"

"Who are you calling a princess you Cyclops?" the voice of Naruto replied as the young man had seemed to have finished his lunch and had come to see who it was.

"Hey Naruto-chan! Mouth as full of crap as ever I see." The other blond said with a grin, going into the usual banter they had every time they met, asking with a teasing smirk, "So? You have begun to get fat since the last time we saw each other yet?"

At this, Naruto's eyes began to water and soon tears began to fall, freaking the bomber specialist out as he saw the young man becoming so distraught by what was meant as an innocent teasing. Before he could say anything Naruto ran up the stairs and closed the bedroom's door loudly behind.

"Great." Kakashi said sarcastically, letting out a weary sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Thank you very much."

Then Kisame whacked the blond Akatsuki member upside the head making the latter yelp in pain and looked at the shark like man with a glare. The swordsman just looked down back at the other with a stern expression.

"Idiot." Itachi said in his low voice, looking at the blond disapprovingly, Nagato and Konan looking at him the same way.

"How could I know he would react like that? Normally it doesn't even bother him if I insult him!" Deidara tried to justify himself with a scowl.

"Of course he would be upset you idiot! Naruto is pregnant. Right now he is very emotional because of all the hormones. You shouldn't have asked him this!" Konan told him, sounding a bit angry which made the others look at her in slight fear, you didn't want to mess with an angry Konan.

"I'll go apologize to him." The explosion specialist mumbled sheepishly, walking up the stairs and going inside the bedroom to talk with Naruto.

After watching Deidara go after Naruto, Kakashi then turned back to the rest of the group, who were standing on the doorstep.

"Come in, we'll sit in the living room while he calms Naruto down." The silver haired man said, letting the others enter the house, realizing something as they were installing themselves in the couches and sofas in the living room, "How did you know where we lived?"

"Tsunade-sama gave us the address." Nagato explained, looking slightly better since he wasn't using the Six Paths of Pain anymore though he still had those chakra rods embedded in his back and was emaciated as ever.

"I see." The jonin said with a sigh, wishing the Godaime wouldn't give their address so easily.

Kakashi then went to the kitchen to do some tea before bringing a steaming pot of it with cups on a tray.

"Sorry for coming uninvited like this Kakashi-san." Itachi said, his dark orbs looking intently at the jonin, "We should have asked you first but since it had been a week we wanted to see how Naruto was doing."

"It's alright Itachi. I don't care." The jonin replied as he set the tray with the tea down, "After all you consider Naruto like part of your group and he really likes you too."

"Still, I know it must be hard for you to accept him being so close to people up until now you considered to be your enemies." The Uchiha insisted, his eyes never leaving the silver haired man, "But we really consider him family and as an extension you as well, so we really want to get along with you as well. We would like you to like us."

Taken aback by the younger man's words, Kakashi looked at Itachi for a moment, their eyes staring intently at each other as if to size up each other. Then, as if coming to an agreement, the silver haired jonin smiled.

"Alright let's try and be friends." The lanky man said, shaking the Uchiha's hand, getting a small smile from the latter.

"Thank you Kakashi-san." The long dark haired man said.

"Now if you want us to be friends, you'll have to drop the suffix." Kakashi replied with a smirk at the face of the Uchiha at the idea of dropping the suffix.

"Alright…Kakashi." Itachi agree, testing the dropping of the suffix and seeming to consider that he could do it.

"Then let's drink to friends!" Kisame exclaimed joyfully as he raised his cup of tea in the air.

"It's tea Kisame not sake." Itachi commented to his partner with a neutral face.

"So what? Doesn't mean we can't make a toast." The swordsman said with what could be interpreted as a childish pout, making everyone chuckle and raise their cup of tea in the air.

"To friends." They said in unison before taking a sip from their cup.

A few minutes later Naruto arrived in the room with Deidara next to him, his eyes slightly red but looking better than before. The young man walked directly to Kakashi, sitting on the jonin's laps and snuggling himself against his lover's chest, his head resting on his shoulder, the jonin's hand instantly beginning to pet the blonde's hair. The others were looking at the scene with amusement for the male of the room and Konan, who was the only woman here, with a soft smile at the cute scene.

"You're feeling better?" Kakashi asked his young lover, while still caressing his down blond hair.

"Yeah." Naruto said in a low voice, unconsciously pressing against the hand on his scalp with a slight purr.

Someone clearing his throat made the two men come back to reality, realizing that they weren't alone, making the younger one of the two blush slightly while the other looked slightly embarrassed as well though he could hide it better than his lover.

"Sorry guys." Naruto apologized in a mumble, a pink hue still on his cheeks.

"Don't sweat it kiddo, we understand." Kisame replied with a wink, before adding with a grin, "Though we would have thought you would already have sufficiently celebrated your reunion during the past week."

At this, the blonde's face became as red as Gaara's hair under the sun, making him look like we could fry eggs on his face.

"It's not…we…oh shut up!" Naruto said with a pout, hiding his face in his lover's chest.

Everyone in the room laughed at the blonde's reaction, finding it amusing. Though he tried to restrain himself, Kakashi couldn't help to chuckle at his lover, rubbing his back soothingly.

"How are you getting used to life here in Konoha?" the silver haired man asked at the group in front of him.

"Alright I guess." Deidara said with a shrug before throwing a slight scowl in Itachi's direction, "Though Itachi is a real enslaver. He has made us repair and clean each room of the Uchiha compound and now he wants us to also do the garden!"

"I just don't want to live in a place in ruins." The Uchiha replied, glaring back at the explosive specialist.

"In that case we should have accepted the hokage's offer to be installed in one of the houses she proposed!" the blond bomber argued.

"We didn't need to bother her with something so trivial when the Uchiha compound is fully capable to accommodate all of us." Itachi said, not raising his voice at all though he kept glaring at Deidara, the two of them in a staring contest.

After Naruto had left Tsunade's office, the female hokage had had a long conversation with the former members of the Akatsuki, making them say exactly explain why they wanted to join Konoha and tell her everything they knew about Tobi's plans and other small details. After a few hours, Tsunade accepted to take them into the village but on one condition. As they were still notorious rogue ninjas, she promised them to convince all the other hidden villages, which would prove to be quite a hard thing to achieve, as well as the Fire country's daimyo that they weren't a threat anymore and that they could in fact be of use to them. But in exchange they would exclusively serve as Naruto's guards until the whole problem with Tobi was solved. Although they were free to go wherever they wanted to go as long as it was in the village, it had been decided that they still would be under close surveillance for now as a precaution. Even if Naruto trusted them, they had still been Akatsuki members and had committed quite a few crimes. Tsunade couldn't take the risk to trust them without them having shown their resolution and good intentions first. This was why, for the next 6 months, everyone had been put under close surveillance of the ANBU. Everyone had been put under surveillance except Itachi, who, since he had been clear of the charges against him concerning the Uchiha clan and had done nothing reprehensible like murder afterward, had been exempt from it. Though he wasn't allowed to participate at missions for the village, as he still had almost the same status as the other members of the Akatsuki. But since he was a ninja from Konoha, Tsunade could more easily trust him as she knew his past, and knew that the decision to have a less tight grip on his movements than the others wouldn't endanger in any way the future tenuous meetings, and arguments that she was sure to have with the other kages.

As such, the Uchiha had had the right to go live wherever he wanted without being under watch from the ANBU, and had proposed that the rest of his companions come live at the Uchiha compound with him. He had apparently no problem going back there despite the bad memories that place held for him and had decided to restore the compound to its former glory, taking Kisame's advice and wanting to create new happy memories over the old and dark ones.

"Oh quit it you two." Nagato intervened exasperated, stopping the two men's staring contest, "Itachi you shouldn't rise to Deidara's taunts. Deidara, if we didn't have this to keep us entertained we would die from boredom. May I remind you that we are under tight surveillance right now and that we don't have the right to leave the village or even have weapons on us? We should be grateful that Itachi has offered us to come live into his home."

"That reminds me," Naruto suddenly began to say, looking at the group with curiosity with his head cocked on the side, "Where are the ANBU guards who are keeping a watch on you?"

"In those trees outside." Kisame replied with a relaxed movement of his chin to the window from which you could see the trees that delimited the forest, "They must be new recruits 'cause they are not really discreet. Well mostly one of them, and he smells like dog."

"What was that you…" a voice from outside exclaimed but was apparently muffled by his partner.

"Be quiet you idiot." The voice of the partner could be heard hissing at the other, "You are an ANBU now for Kami's sake!"

Feeling like he knew those voices, Naruto stood up and walked to the window to see two ANBU members standing on the thick branch of a tree, one with long chocolate brown hair falling on his shoulder, and the other with brown spiky hair sticking out in every direction. They looked rather uncomfortable under the blonde's gaze who had narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember if he had already met them. Kakashi went to his lover's side to look at the ANBU members, recognizing them instantly as Neji Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Ah!" the blond exclaimed pointing at the two black ops, looking as if he had realized who they were, "I know who you are!"

"Really?" Kakashi asked, having a hard time believing his young lover knew who they were as he knew he was quite clueless when it came to this kind of thing."

"Of course! I met this neechan once when I went to Tsunade-baachan to get a mission from her!" Naruto replied very seriously as he pointed at Neji, before then pointing at Kiba and saying, "And this guy I'm sure I saw him falling into a basin full of mud that me and Konohamaru had put there as a prank!"

Though Kakashi did restrain himself, all the other persons in the room broke in laughter, as they at least knew that there was no way that Neji was a woman, though they didn't know if what the blond had said about Kida was true or not. As for the silver haired man, he knew of course that all this was not true, and the killing intent he could feel from both of the young ANBUs was making the situation even funnier.

Three days later, Kakashi and Naruto, along with the group of former Akatsuki members were walking back to the couple's house, which wasn't much of an unnatural scene to see as they were spending a lot of time together. But right now, what was rather unusual was the fact that the group were trying right now to calm a distraught pregnant jinchuriki.

"I can't believe it!" Naruto exclaimed for the thousandth time, his body slumped and his eyes looking ahead in a dumbfounded expression, looking like he was not really seeing the road in front of him.

"Oh come on Naru, it's not a big deal!" Deidara replied with a roll of his eyes, looking at his 'little brother' in slight exasperation.

"Not a big deal?" Naruto repeated, as he turned sharply toward the other blond and looked at him with wide eyes, continuing in a voice so high that it sounded like a shriek, making the others cringe slightly, "How can you say it's not a big deal?"

Collectively a big weary sigh was heaved by the rest of the group, Kakashi for once staying away from his lover as he let the others deal with him. It had been going on like this for the past 30 minutes and they were all beginning to be on edge, not knowing what to do to calm the pregnant blond down.

'And of course those two wouldn't even try to help us.' Kakashi thought bitterly, throwing a glare at the ANBUs who were happily following them from a safe distance in the trees.

"So you can't stand the smell or taste ramen. It's not the end of the world." Deidara said nonchalantly.

'Wrong choice of words.' The jonin thought with a shake of his head, feeling already sorry for what was going to fall on the bomb specialist.

"Not the end of the world? Are you kidding me!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing the front of the other blonde's clothes and giving him a rather forceful shaking, "Ramen is my life! How can I live without ramen? Why is my baby doing this to me huh? Why did I do to it that it doesn't let me eat my favorite food?"

Then suddenly, the young man let go of poor Deidara, who had fallen unconscious under the strength of the pregnant blonde's shakes, and turned to Kakashi, glaring and pointing an accusing finger at him.

"You! It's your fault!" Naruto said loudly, as if he had found the culprit of a very serious case.

"Huh? What? Me?" the poor jonin stuttered confusedly, not understanding how it could be his fault.

"Yeah! You are the one who made me pregnant so this is your fault that our child doesn't like ramen!" the young man said like it was the most logical thing in the world, "You poisoned our future child's tastes with yours and now it will never know what tastes good!"

Flabbergasted, the silver haired man looked at his younger lover, not knowing what to say or do.

"Naruto it's going to be okay." Konan began to say in a soft voice as she slowly approached the pregnant blond, trying to sooth him as she put an arm around his shoulders in a comforting embrace.

"No it's not!" Naruto replied with sniffling noise, "I'm not going to be able to eat ramen for the next 8 months!"

"Sure but can you imagine the pleasure you will have in eating your first ramen in eight months?" Konan said softly, squeezing comfortingly the young man's shoulder, who slightly calmed down at those words, "Imagine all the possibilities of combination you will have."

"It's true…" the blond mumbled, sniffling more weakly now before raising his head to look at Konan with puppy dog eyes as if it was the kunoichi who was going to give him 'the food of Gods' as he called it, "Will I be able to have the super complete ramen bowls with extra crispy pork and eggs, with crab meat in the soup?"

"Sure you will." The blue haired kunoichi replied with an energetic nod, as if it was an evidence though she had no idea what he was talking about, only wanting Naruto to get out of his depression and not upset him.

At this, the young man's face brightened and he suddenly became much chipper, making the rest of the group let out a relieved sigh at seeing him in a better mood. A moody pregnant Naruto was not someone you wanted to mess with. If Kakashi hadn't known who Naruto's mother had been, he would have wondered from whom he had taken this incredibly frightening moodiness. But knowing how scary Kushina had been especially during her pregnancy, the jonin should have expected his young lover to have the same temper, though he had wished really hard that he wouldn't.

"Okay!" the blond said with a face splitting grin, before skipping to his silver haired lover and hooked his arm with his as he said, "Let's go home now!"

Chuckling at Naruto's antics, the group began to walk once again; glad that the blond was in a good mood once again as an unhappy Naruto meant that everyone was unhappy.

The next day, Naruto and Kakashi along with the Akatsuki group were sitting in the living room, just talking and having fun together while drinking tea. The group of former Akatsuki members would almost come everyday to the couple's house even for a few hours to have a drink or do something like go out to eat or play a game of some sort. They would be practically living there half of the time if it were not for Kakashi and Naruto, who would kick them out at night, forcing them to go back to the Uchiha compound to sleep.

The seven of them were drinking peacefully their tea when they suddenly heard loud knocks on the front door and the loud voice of a woman that Naruto and Kakashi knew all too well.

"Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki I know you are here! Open the door! How dare you not tell me that you had moved!" the voice of Inari could be heard yelling while drumming against the front door, her brother trying to calm her down, "Oh shut up Iyashi, I know you are upset as well that they didn't have the decency to come tell us that Naruto was now back!"

As the slightly crazy nurse kept rambling, the former Akatsuki members glanced back and forth between the poor door that was getting mistreated by Inari and the two uncomfortably squirming men at hearing the angry nurse. Itachi was the one who said what the rest was thinking.

"Who is it?" the Uchiha asked curiously, his eyebrows rose in question.

"It's hum…an old friend. I kind of forgot to tell her that Naruto has been rescued…" Kakashi answered, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Should we open the door and let them in?" Deidara asked while looking at the slightly trembling door.

"I don't know…" Naruto said, looking warily at the door, "If she is mad now, I don't want to know how she will be when she learns that I'm pregnant…"

This idea gave a shudder at both Kakashi and Naruto, who now looked even more afraid to open the door, not wanting to face the wrath of the nurse.

"Well she won't give up until we have opened it and we'll have to face her one day or another, so we might as well get it over with as soon as possible." Kakashi said with a resigned sigh as he began to get up.

"Wait Kakashi." Kisame stopped the jonin, making the latter look at him inquisitively while he grinned roguishly, "Let me answer the door. It's going to be fun."

Before the silver haired man could say anything, the swordsman went to the door with Samehada in his hand, his most scary grin on his face, before opening the door to reveal Inari and Iyashi, who looked like he didn't want to have anything to do with his sister right now. Then Inari looked up at him, the shark like man thinking that now would come the part where she would cream in fright. However, after she had seen it was neither Kakashi nor Naruto, the woman pushed roughly Kisame out of the way and walked inside the house, making the shark like man look completely astonished. It was the first time that his scary act hadn't worked and seeing that small woman not being afraid him while he had made grown shinobis cry and call for their mothers was slightly unsettling. Still fuming, the nurse searched with her gaze one of the two men she wanted to strangle, noticing briefly the presence of the other Akatsuki members before her eyes finally locked on Kakashi. As quickly and stealthily as a shinobi, Inari went and grabbed the poor man by the front of his collar.

"You are a dead man Hatake." The nurse said with a maniacal grin.

"Now, now Inari-san please let me explain." Kakashi said nervously, trying to calm the woman down, not wanting to die so soon.

"You have one minute." Inari told him, releasing him while scowling at him, her arms firmly crossed over her chest.

"When we found Naruto, he was with people who had deserted the Akatsuki. Then we learned that the leader of the Akatsuki wanted to destroy the world and use Naruto to achieve his plans. So we've been really busy trying to figure out everything. Plus there are some special circumstances concerning Naruto that…" the jonin reported really quickly under the severe gaze of the angry nurse, slightly babbling under nervosity.

"What special circumstances?" Inari asked with her eyebrows raised inquisitively.

"He is pregnant." The silver haired man blurted out, making the nurse still in shock, her face looking blank as she absorbed the information.

"How?" was all she asked but Kakashi knew exactly what she meant as he had had the exact same reaction.

"Kyubi…I mean Kurama's powers." The jonin said, correcting himself when Naruto made a noise with his throat to protest about the use of 'Kyubi'.

Inari looked blankly at Kakashi without saying anything for a few seconds, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever before it suddenly broke into a big grin.

"Kakashi you dog!" the nurse exclaimed jovially, slapping the poor jonin's back in a congralutory manner, "So not only you finally did it but you also impregnated him? Hahaha!"

"Congratulations." Iyashi said in his usual nice smile, shaking the silver haired man's hand.

"So Naruto," Inari began to say with a sly smile, approaching the blond, putting an arm around his shoulder, "How is Kakashi in the sack?"

At the nurse's question, every tension that might have still existed in the air as everybody had been slightly afraid of the nurse, who looked completely crazy and as moody as Naruto on his bad days to them, broke into laughter while Naruto became crimson as well as Kakashi. Then when everybody calmed down, Inari and Iyashi were presented to all the former Akatsuki members, and sat down as well. They then talked, trying to get to know each other.

"So you guys were part of the Akatsuki huh? That's badass." Inari commented with a smirk, "If someone had told me the hokage would accept rogue ninjas in the village I would have called the person insane, but Tsunade has done the right thing. I'm glad you were there to help this brat over here."

"Where are you living right now?" Iyashi asked curiously.

"At the Uchiha compound." Nagato answered, making the two siblings turn to look at Itachi who hadn't said anything yet.

"I heard about the truth behind the Uchiha massacre," Iyashi said with a grave expression, looking sadly at the long dark haired man, "I can't believe you were ordered to do such a horrible thing to your own clan."

"The village's peace was at stake. There was nothing else we could do." Itachi replied in an automatic tone of voice, sounding like he had said this phrase over and over, trying to convince himself of it as well by saying it.

Naruto, who had learned the truth by Kakashi and then had had it confirmed by the Uchiha himself, looked sadly as well at Itachi, thinking about how an order given by the village's authorities had turned a peaceful man into a criminal and an impressionable child into an avenger. He had been really mad at the Sandaime at first for this, resenting the old man for not having done anything against it, but then he had let go of his anger, reasoning that he might not had had another choice but to accept the massacre of an entire clan for the sake of the village.

"Aah this is depressing! Let's not dwell on the past and focus more on the future gentlemen!" Inari exclaimed, standing up and walking to the bag that she had brought with her, taking two bottles of plum sake out of it and saying with a grin, "Let's drink and forget everything tonight!"

"May I remind you that Naruto is pregnant?" Kakashi replied with an authoritative voice and look, "No alcohol."

"Tch! Kill joy." The nurse mumbled sulkily.

"Go on you can drink some. I'll just drink some fruit juice." The young reassured, serving himself a glass of papaya juice.

"Yay! You're the man Naruto!" Inari said happily before adding slyly as an afterthought, "Well not exactly since you are the one with a bun in the oven but you catch my drift."

"Whatever babaa." The blond replied using the same insult he had used on Tsunade with an evil smirk as he asked, "So? Any progress with Genma?"

"I'll let you know that we are living together!" the nurse proclaimed, looking smug.

"Wow, and he has been able to stand living with you?" Naruto asked in fake amazement, his eyes dramatically opened.

"Brat." The woman grumbled before serving herself a glass of sake.

"Oi, oi don't forget us!" Kisame said jokingly, as he stuck his empty glass toward Inari, wanting to get some sake as well.

"You're right sorry. It's no fun if I'm the only one drinking." Inari replied with a wide smile, serving some sake to the shark like man as well as every body else except Naruto of course, but also Nagato, who didn't like alcohol.

The joyous group then began to chat while drinking, telling jokes, sometimes having playful banters and just enjoying themselves. Inari seemed to have found into Kisame and Deidara drinking buddies while Iyashi spoke calmly with Itachi and Nagato about diverse subjects, debating of politics and other things. Sitting comfortably in his lover's laps, something he was becoming more and more fond of doing as of lately, Naruto looked at his old and new friends getting along with a smile, hoping that it would be the case for all his other friends. Kakashi didn't care about the group and was more focused on his young pregnant lover as he held him close to his chest, petting his hair absentmindedly.

"By the way Kakashi," Iyashi suddenly said, making the jonin look at him curiously, "Did you hear that Danzo's execution date has been set?"

At this, Itachi tensed slightly but the hand of Kisame on his relaxed him immediately, while Naruto looked surprised.

"Danzo has been sentenced to death?" the blond asked, looking up at his lover for confirmation.

"Yes. Due to all the conspiracies he did against Konoha, as well as all the murders he has committed himself or through others, it was decided that he could not be left alive." The silver haired man told the young man briefly before looking at Iyashi and asking, "When has it been set?"

"In two days." The medic-nin answered, "It is going to be done in closed walls with no public except for a few guards who will also serve as witnesses and the executioner."

"Does Sai know about it?" Naruto asked, feeling concerned for the aloof Root member.

"He must have as I'm sure the Root must be in quite a turmoil right now at the fact that their leader is going to be executed. That must be the reason why there will be guards as a security in case the Root does anything desperate to try and save their leader." Kakashi said, looking at Iyashi for confirmation.

"That's exact. Tsunade is rather unnerved by the situation, as she doesn't know how to deal with the people from the Root afterward. Technically speaking there will be no Root anymore but she doesn't know if the former members will agree to plead allegiance to her." Iyashi said with a worried frown on his face.

"Maybe I could try to talk to them. After all I have worked for Danzo a few times, they might listen to me more than if it was anyone else from the outside." Itachi intervened, making Kakashi and Iyashi look at him thoughtfully.

"Hmm maybe…I'm not really sure it would work but we could always give it a try." Kakashi said pensively, before an idea appeared in his mind and he turned to Naruto, "Maybe we should make Sai go with Itachi, like this they would have more weight together to maybe convince some members to join don't you think?"

"Yeah definitely. That could work." The blond nodded energetically at the idea.

"Alright. Then we'll go see Sai tomorrow and talk to him about this idea." The jonin said with a small smile at his motivated lover, before turning to Itachi as he said, "You should come with us as well Itachi. Like that you can speak with Sai about all this and maybe see how you will approach them."

"Sure." The Uchiha agreed.

"Well in that case we should go home for the night and go to sleep." Nagato said as he began to stand up.

Agreeing, everyone stood up and began to take their leave, wishing goodnight to each other and heading to their respective home to go sleep. Naruto and Kakashi went to bed, the two lovers lying very close to each other, the older one spooning the younger one with his arms around his waist, rubbing small circles on the flat stomach of the blond and nuzzling his neck.

"Kakashi, have you ever wished your life could be different?" the young man suddenly asked, making the silver haired man raise his head a bit to look at him.

"What do you mean?" the jonin asked back with a frown.

"I mean, haven't you ever thought about how it would be to not be a shinobi?" Naruto explained, his eyes staring straight ahead at the wall of the room with a deep in thought look.

"Not really." Kakashi replied in a nonchalant tone of voice, "I have never known anything else and the idea of doing something else has never crossed my mind."

"But aren't you curious of what it would be like? Not having to fight and not have to face danger and death almost everyday. Don't you think it would be nice?" the young man insisted, turning around to face his lover and look at him straight in the eyes.

"I suppose… But why are you asking me this?" the silver haired man asked with a frown as he looked with curiosity at his lover.

"Well you could say it is the hormones talking, but I feel like I would want to live a peaceful life and raise our child in a safe environment." The blond said, a conflicted expression on his face, as he seemed to have a battle of opinion inside his mind.

Kakashi was about to open his mouth to say something when his young lover began to talk again, making the jonin listen attentively to him.

"But now that I think about it. There will be violence and wars and pain everywhere we would go." Naruto added in an afterthought, "Real peace does not exist right now. If I want us and our future child to live in a peaceful world where no violence, pain or war exist, we need to first create it. Yeah. I will become hokage and I will make sure to install peace everywhere so that we can all live in peace."

Kakashi looked with endearment at his lover who was speaking excitedly at how he would create a better world for them and their child as well as the rest of the world. At first, when he had heard Naruto talking about stopping being a ninja, he had felt a bit concerned about this. This was a rather serious subject and you didn't take the decision to stop being a ninja like that on whim. But then, when the blonde's eyes had lit with passion and determination when talking about how he would change the world and install peace everywhere, the silver haired man couldn't help but feel relieved as the fiery young man he had always known was back.

"I have complete faith that you will succeed love." Kakashi then said, kissing tenderly Naruto's forehead, "If there is one person who can do it it's you, and I will help you realize it in every way I can."

"Thank you Kashi." Naruto said with a soft smile, looking lovingly at the older man, giving him a peck on the lips before snuggling closer to him and putting his head on his chest, softly murmuring, "I love you."

"I love you too my angel." The jonin replied, burrowing his face into the mass of feather soft blond hair, letting a sigh of contentment as he inhaled the sweet scent of his younger lover.

The two lovers slowly fell asleep in the arms of each other, letting their worries and doubts aside for the night, just enjoying the quietness of the night, and the sweet weight of sleep that began fogging up their mind more and more as they succumbed to it. But most of all, they enjoyed the feel of the warm body of their other half pressed against theirs and their limbs wrapped around each other as they drifted off into dream land.

The next day, Naruto sent a message to both Itachi and Sai to come to his and Kakashi's house as soon as they had received the message, giving to the latter his address since the Root member didn't know where he lived. He and Kakashi had decided that it was better to make the two men come to their house, as there was the possiblity that the dark haired young man's apartment might be kept under surveillance by other Root members, while they were sure to be able to talk safely about anything in their house where nobody would be spying on them. The first one to arrive to their house was Sai.

"Hey Sai!" Naruto greeted as he let the young Root member enter, "Thanks for coming on such a short notice"

"You're welcome Naruto-kun." Sai replied, turning to look at the blond before asking bluntly, "So why did you ask me to come? Is this something friends do between each other?"

"Hum no that has nothing to do with friendship…well maybe it does a bit…argh you are confusing me!" Naruto exclaimed, fisting his hair to refrain himself from hitting the socially challenged young man that was Sai.

"In my book it says that when you are confused it's often a sign that you might actually like persons of the same sex as you, but since you are already gay I don't know if it mean that you are in fact straight or…" the young Root member began to say, making Naruto look more and more like he wanted to throttle him.

But before the blond could do such a thing, Kakashi intervened.

"Maa we are waiting for another person so I think it's better if we wait for this person to come before we explain you exactly why we asked you to come." The jonin said, putting a hand in the back of Naruto's back, rubbing small circles to calm him down, "In the mean time, why don't we go in the living room and have something to drink while waiting for our last guest to arrive?"

The three men then went to the living room and had some tea while waiting for Itachi to come. Not long after they had sat, a knock could be heard and this time Kakashi went to open the door, coming back a few seconds later in the living room with Itachi behind him.

"Hello Itachi-nii!" Naruto said with a smile before turning to Sai, "Sai, this is…"

"Itachi Uchiha." Sai said, interrupting the blond into his introduction of the long dark haired man, making him sulk slightly at having been interrupted, while he looked at the Uchiha with an undecipherable look, "I have heard a lot about you from Danzo-sama. You are rather famous in the Root."

"This is something I would gladly have gone without." Itachi replied, his face as blank as ever as he looked back at the young Root member.

"Still, I hope that we can get along and become friends." The short dark haired youth said with a fake smile, showing that this situation was making nervous as he used this smile as a defensive mechanism, he then turned to Naruto with an expression showing slight curiosity, "Why did you call us here Naruto-kun?"

"Because Danzo is going to be soon executed." Kakashi replied in the blonde's stead, sitting next to his young lover and taking one of his hands in his.

Sai slightly tensed at this news, looking straight ahead without really seeing anything before slowly fixing his gaze on the jonin.

"So the rumor is true." the pale young man said more to himself than anyone before asking a question to the silver haired man, "When is it going to happen?"

"Tomorrow by noon." Kakashi answered, looking intently at the young Root member to gauge his reaction, receiving only a stiff nod as a response from the young man.

"When it happens the Root will find itself without a leader and the organization will be unstable." The jonin continued, still looking straight at Sai, "We would like you with the help of Itachi to go talk to the other members of the Root and try to convince them to pledge allegiance to the hokage."

"I'm not sure I will be able to convince them of doing that. I don't have much weight into the organization." Sai replied hesitantly, his brows slightly creased as he thought about all this, "But I can always try. Moreover, if Itachi-san is here, we might be able to convince some of them. But more important, I think it would be wise to be prepared at maybe having to stop some of them that might try to escape. It could be very detrimental for the village if they left and went renegade and to other villages and gave the village's secrets away."

"How do you think they would escape? Do the Root have special passage ways that go out of the village?" Naruto suddenly asked with a concerned frown.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun I can't tell you." The pale young man said with a sad expression before sticking his tongue out to show the seal placed on him by Danzo to keep him from spilling the secrets of the Root.

"Right I forgot…" the blond cringed as he looked at the cursed seal on the other's tongue.

"We'll focus on this matter as soon as Danzo is dead since you will be able to tell us everything you know afterward," Itachi replied, looking at Sai before turning his serious gaze to Kakashi and Naruto, "But right now we should focus on how we will approach the other Root members."

Then for the next two hours, the four men talked and argued on the best way to approach the other Root members. They finally came to an agreement on what the best strategy was, deciding that while Itachi and Sai would go to parliament with the Root members, Kakashi and Naruto would go see Tsunade to brief her on the situation and on their plan. Standing up, the four men went out of the house, Kakashi locking the house up behind them before he and Naruto looked at the other two men.

"So we all know what we have to do right?" Naruto said, getting a nod from all the others, "As soon as you are finished talking with the Root, you come to Tsunade-baachan's office and tell us immediately how it went so that we know whether or not we will have to prepare for a riot or an attack of some sort from them."

"We will tell hokage-sama what is going on and we will prepare ourselves in case your meeting with the Root didn't go well." Kakashi finished, looking at Itachi and Sai as he said, "Good luck to you."

"Be careful." Naruto said, as he looked slightly worried for the other two.

"See you later at the hokage's office." Itachi replied.

With that said, Itachi and Sai took off while Kakashi and Naruto headed toward the hokage tower.

"You did what?" the voice of Tsunade could be heard yelling in a slightly angry voice.

"You don't need to yell like that baachan." Naruto complained with a small grimace at his poor ears that had been abused by the loud yell of the woman.

"Do you even realize what you have just done? And without permission?" the female hokage exclaimed, looking clearly mad, "Who gave you the permission to go talk to the Root without asking for my consent or telling me beforehand?"

"If we had waited to tell you it might have been too late." The blond replied with a scowl, "We acted quickly so that there would be no surprises from the Root. Moreover, I'm pretty sure you would have authorized it so stop trying to make us feel guilty baachan, and let's start preparing ourselves for the probability that the Root might rebel against the village instead."

Speechless, the blonde medic-nin looked at the young man as if she had never seen him before, Kakashi also looking at him with an impressed and proud expression on his face.

"Very well." Tsunade finally said after a moment of silence, "Then let's get started."

Afterward, the female hokage along with the two men began to make all the arrangements and prepare everything just in case. A few hours later, everything was ready and all they could do now was wait. Fortunately for them they didn't have to wait too long as Itachi and Sai soon arrived.

"How did it go?" Naruto asked as soon the men were in the room.

"Not good." Sai replied with a slightly pained expression, "None of them wanted to hear anything we had to say."

"They kept calling Sai a traitor that should be killed for having asked them to join the 'enemy side' and betray Danzo." Itachi added, his voice holding a disgusted tone as he continued, "Those brainwashed idiots tried to kill us by coming from behind. We had to kill a few of them to get out of there."

"I see. I had hoped at least some of them would agree but I guess it can't be helped." Tsunade said, letting a heavy weary sigh before looking at Kakashi, "I know you will hate me for this Kakashi but I would like you to work with the ANBU one more time and capture every remaining Root member without killing them if possible."

Kakashi looked at Naruto with a questioning gaze, silently asking permission to the blond to work with the ANBU.

"Do it." The young man told him, giving him a reassuring smile, "I don't care if you work with the ANBU. The only thing I didn't like was that you had kept that fact secret from me."

"Alright." The jonin agreed with a small smile back at his younger lover.

"Then it's settled." The female hokage said, snapping her fingers and making three ANBU members appear in the room, before looking directly at Kakashi straight in his eyes with a stern gaze, "Here are the men that will be on your team for this mission. I'll let you an hour to get prepared and if you want to gather other people for this mission as well."

"Am I allowed to take Itachi in my team?" the silver haired man asked.

"You are." Tsunade said with a nod before adding while glancing at the Uchiha, "Though it also depends on if he wants to do it or not."

"I have no problem with doing this." The long dark haired man replied.

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgment and then turned to Sai.

"I would like you Sai to be on my team as well, but I would understand if the idea of fighting against your former comrades repulses you." The jonin told him in a gentle voice.

"Don't worry about me Kakashi-san." The pale young man said, "Though it pains me that they are not willing to try another way of life, as Root is all we have only known in our life, I understand that we have to stop them before they become too much of a threat."

"Very well." Kakashi said with another nod of acknowledgment, "Let's go then."

With that said, the three men along with the three ANBUs left the room, leaving Naruto and Tsunade alone together.

"Well then I guess I'll just have to go back home by myself." The blond said beginning to leave when Tsunade stopped him from doing so.

"Oh no young man you're not." The female hokage replied, "I sent a message to Nagato a few minutes ago, asking him to send two of them here so that they could escort you back to your house and stay with you. You are an easy target right now Naruto, and we had agreed that as long as you had not had your child or that Tobi was not stopped, you would get people to watch over you 24/7."

"Hmph! Alright." The young man agreed, reluctantly sitting on a chair while waiting for his 'babysitters' to come get him.

Soon, someone knocked on the door before entering the room, revealing in the doorway the whole group of former Akatsuki members, except of course for Itachi who was with Kakashi.

"Hey kiddo! Ready to go home?" Kisame asked with a smile.

"Isn't it a bit too much for all of you to protect me?" Naruto asked with a deadpanned expression as he looked at them.

"Tch! Don't flatter yourself much! We were just bored so we decided to all come and hang out at your place un." Deidara replied with a grin, winking at the other blond.

"Bunch of freeloaders." The young grumbled, though with a fond smile, "Alright let's go home. I think there is still some of the cookies Kakashi has made left."

In a collective exclamation of approval at the prospect of eating cookies, the little group left, heading toward Naruto and Kakashi's cottage.

The next day, all the Root members had been arrested with unfortunately some casualties as some of them had proved to be a challenge to capture alive. And now, it was almost time for Danzo's execution. Neither Naruto nor Kakashi, or Sai and the former Akatsuki members had wanted to assist to his execution, preferring to treat this day as normally as possible. Right now, the group of ex rogue-nins was at Naruto and Kakashi's place, hanging out in the living room and chatting to each other. Sai had also been invited, as Naruto hadn't wanted him to stay alone on this day where his former leader was going to be executed. While he was sipping on a fruit juice, Naruto couldn't keep looking at Nagato, a strange feeling nagging at him as he looked at the red haired man. The rinnegan holder felt the insistent stare and looked back at Naruto with an inquisitive expression on his face. He couldn't help but feel like there was something linking them. But what could it be?

"Is something wrong Naruto?" Nagato asked, pulling the blond out of his musings.

"Oh hum…nothing." The young man replied absentmindedly, before his eyes narrowed slightly in concentration on the other man's face, "It's just that…there is something that feels familiar about you that I hadn't noticed before and I can't put my finger on it."

Then suddenly, Naruto's eyes widened in realization before his face took on a pensive expression.

"Your hair…" he murmured more to himself than anyone, deep in thought.

"Huh?" the red haired man asked confused.

"Your hair color remind me of my mom's." the blond said, remembering a picture he had seen of his mother, still staring pensively at the other man's hair.

"Now that I think about it, this kind of red hair is a characteristic of the Uzumaki clan." Kakashi said, now looking thoughtfully at the rinnegan holder pensively, "Did any of your parents have red hair?"

"My mother." Nagato answered, looking a bit lost, not understanding fully what the two men were talking about.

The other persons in the room were looking at the scene with interest, observing and wondering how it would end.

"Kakashi, do you think he could be from the Uzumaki clan?" Naruto asked his lover with a frown.

"There is a high possibility." The jonin replied, before looking back at the red haired man, "I have one more question. Did your mother had some sort of swirl like symbol on her clothes?"

"No…" Nagato first answered, making Naruto look a bit down before he added as a memory crossed his mind, "Though she did have this one long haori on which there was a red spiral like swirl on the back of it. But why do you ask?"

"Because the red swirl was the symbol of the Uzumaki clan, which Naruto's mother had been a part of." The silver haired man said, throwing a soft glance at Naruto, who was now looking at Nagato with a hopeful expression on his face, "Which means that your mother was part of the Uzumaki clan as well."

"So that means that me and Naruto are related?" the red haired man asked rhetorically, now staring at the blond in shocked disbelief before a small smile appeared on his face, "I guess that makes us cousins or something like this then."

"Yeah." The young man replied with a bright smile of his own, adding in a slight joking tone, "Who would have thought huh?"

"Indeed." Nagato said amusedly, looking like he was more happy than before, as if having found a part of his family that still lived was making him feel whole again.

The others looked at the scene with a happy smile for their friends having found someone of their family, all of them knowing how it was hard to not have any members of their family alive or just not knowing them. They felt happy for them. But before they could say anything to the two, someone knocked on the front door, making everyone look at it and wonder who it could be. Kakashi went to open it and saw that it was Jiraiya. His presence could only mean one thing. Entering the house, the Sannin walked inside the living room where everyone was.

"Danzo is dead. The execution went on without any hitch." The toad sennin told the assembly, scanning the group in front of him with a feeling he had broken the mood, "Did I interrupt something?"

"We've just discovered that Nagato and I are related!" Naruto said with a big happy smile.

At this, Jiraiya's eyes widened comically as he turned to look at the red haired man who was looking back at him coldly.

"You're from the Uzumaki clan?" the Sannin exclaimed astonished.

"It seems like it." The rinnegan holder replied in a stiff manner, glaring at his former shisho.

At the cold attitude of his former student, the toad sennin felt uncomfortable, looking with a sad expression at Nagato.

"Nagato I want to apologize for having let you, Yahiko and Konan alone. I'm sorry for what happened to Yahiko and..." Jiraiya started to say but was interrupted by Nagato's outburst.

"Don't you dare speak Yahiko's name! What right do you have to talk about him? You left us three while we were still kids to fend for ourselves!" the red haired man yelled, his rinnegan eyes blazing angrily.

"I taught you everything I could so that you could survive and live through this time of war." The toad sennin replied with a sad frown, "I realize that I was too confident in your abilities. I should have taken you back with me to Konoha but…"

"Save your excuses for someone else sensei." The rinnegan holder spat, glaring the older man, "You have no idea through how much pain we went, how every time a small light of hope appeared in front of us it was rapidly crushed out."

"Then tell me about it. Whatever pain you two have suffered, I want to bear the burden of it as well." The Sannin replied gently with a sincere gaze, taking aback Nagato, who looked between him and Naruto with a perturbed expression.

"I guess students take from their shishos." The red haired man muttered to himself, though Jiraiya and Naruto heard him, the first one looking at him with a confused look while the latter looked at him with an expression half amused half smug, giving a wink at his newly found cousin, as if encouraging him to find it in his heart to give a chance to their shisho.

"Alright." Nagato agreed, throwing a meaningful glance at Konan, who had kept looking at him the entire time in worry, before looking back at his former shisho with an undecipherable expression, "Why don't we go talk somewhere else so that we can tell you exactly everything that has happened to us since you left."

"You can go in the garden if you want." Kakashi proposed, receiving a thankful nod from Nagato, who stood up with the help of Konan and then began to head toward the back garden, Jiraiya following close behind them.

"I'm glad they'll settle things down." Naruto commented with a soft smile as he watched the three going into the garden.

"We all are kiddo." Kisame replied with a smile of his own.

"Yeah! It's not healthy to keep grudges like this and not settling things with the person you resent. Now leader will be able to live without this weight in his heart." Deidara added in approval, still calling Nagato 'leader' as he was so used to it even though he was not using any of the six paths of Pain anymore.

"_Hey kit." Kurama called Naruto into his mind, "I was observing this Nagato guy and I have just thought of something."_

"_What is it?" Naruto asked curious._

"_Well I know you are worried about him looking so ill and all and I think I know a way to give him back his health while taking those awful rods that are sticking out of his back." The tailed beast said._

"_Really?" the blond asked with wide eyes, feeling excitement at hearing this statement, "How could we do that?"_

"_Well my guess is that the reason he looks so emaciated is because those damn chakra rods are pumping all of his chakra out and life force in general. So I think that if we can transmit some of my chakra into him while taking out those rods out of him, we might be able to restore his body's health" The fox demon explained, "Of course that means that we need the help of this female hokage of yours, because the wounds created by where the rods are embedded will need to be healed immediately. I can't guaranty that my chakra will be able to do that. But it will certainly be able to restore his former health."_

"_That's a great idea!" the young man exclaimed, now completely motivated to do this, "We need to go see Tsunade-baachan immediately and tell her about our idea!"_

"_Wait kit!" Kurama quickly told Naruto, "There is one thing I need to warn you about."_

"_What is it?" the blond asked impatiently, wanting to get to the medic woman as quickly as possible._

"_We haven't been able to practice a lot at you controlling my chakra and I know it is really hard for you to control and mold chakra in general anyway." The beast began to say, continuing carefully, "So if you want this to be a success, you will have to let me be the one in control."_

"_Alright." The young man agreed instantly._

"_Are you sure?" the Nine Tailed demon asked unsure._

"_I'm not following you." The blond said frowning in incomprehension._

"_Are you sure that you are willing to let me free reins on your body for the duration of the operation?" Kurama explained._

"_Of course! You don't want to win my body over right? I trust you. I trust that you don't want to harm me in any way anymore." Naruto replied with a smile, rendering the tailed beast speechless and making him smile slightly at the trust the young man had in him. _

With that said, Naruto pulled out of his mind and came back to reality, everyone looking at him with concern as they had apparently tried to talk to him and he hadn't responded.

"Are you okay Naruto?" Kakashi asked, "You spaced out for a moment and I was afraid there was something wrong with you."

"Now everything is fine." Naruto replied with a bright smile, "Everything is wonderful even!"

"Huh?" the jonin said confused.

"I need to go talk to Tsunade-baachan immediately! Kurama just had an idea about how we could get Nagato back in shape!" the blond said, standing suddenly and beginning to walk with a determined pace toward the front door.

"Wait! We are coming with you!" Deidara exclaimed, standing up quickly and running to catch with the leaving blond.

Without a word, Kisame, Itachi and Kakashi followed the two blond, really curious about what this idea was.

It took quite a lot of arguments and yells from both Naruto and Tsunade's part but in the end, the blonde medic-nin accepted to do it and assist Naruto in this attempt to get the rinnegan holder his health back. Of course she had agreed to do it if the red haired man accepted to try and take the risk.

Convincing Nagato had been really easy, as the prospect of not feeling weak and sick all the time was of course greatly appealing to the man.

This is how, the next day, the rinnegan holder found himself in the operation room of the hospital with Tsunade and Naruto.

"Alright so let's get things clear one more time." Tsunade said in her professional voice, looking quite seriously at both Naruto and Nagato, "Naruto, you'll let Kurama take over your body so that he can properly control the amount of chakra inside Nagato's body. He will push out the rods out of his Nagato while I heal immediately his back as soon as the rods are out to restore his back and avoid as much damage as possible right?"

"Exactly." The blond nodded sharply, his face as serious as ever.

Content with the young man's answer, Tsunade then turned to the red haired man that was right now sitting half naked on the operation table, looking slightly nervous.

"Are you ready Nagato?" the blonde medic-nin asked gently as she felt the man's nervosity.

"As ready as I can ever be." The rinnegan holder replied in a raucous voice.

"Very well let's begin then." The female hokage said, making her hands glow green with medical chakra, while Naruto closed his eyes to let Kurama take over his body.

_TBC_

**Wow that's the biggest chapter I have ever written... I guess that going to the restaurant and eating so much food that you feel like you are about to have a food baby can help... lol  
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**I hope you all liked this chapter. As you can see a lot of things have happened. Inari and Iyashi are back, Jiraiya has had his talk with Nagato and the latter is about to be operated and maybe healed. ^^  
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**I hope Naruto's new eating habits didn't disgust you too much. Though I have to admit that I kinda want to see what a tuna sandwich with strawberries and honey tastes like...maybe it's good. =D  
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**Anyway, I'll stop with the weird thoughts and wait your lovely reviews that never stop to make me feel special (even though I'm not lol).  
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**See ya!  
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	31. The Flow of Life

**Hello everyone! How are you all doing? Sorry that this chapter is slightly smaller than the usual ones but I have been rather sick for the last few days so I didn't get much time to write and I didn't want to make you wait too long before I update.**

_**Now I'll just answer to the "anonymous reviews":  
**_

**_Regito: Well you are in luck this chapter will tell you what happened to Pein. ;) I hope it'll live up to your expectations._  
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**I hope you will like this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

Nagato's surgery had gone well and the man was now asleep in a hospital bed, resting after the tiring operation that had taken a long time to achieve. The operation had been really exhausting but you could clearly see the positive effects of it. His skin, which had always been sickly pale, had now taken on a healthier pale cream color, his sunken cheeks were now more full and his emaciated body had changed to a healthy slim figure thanks to the chakra from Kurama that he had absorbed. Even his red hair looked less dull and had a certain glow to them. All in all the rinnegan holder looked much better. And for those like Konan and Jiraiya, who had known him before he used the technique that made him look like that, he looked almost eerily the same as before when he was healthy. Under Tsunade's orders, all he had to do now was get some rest and eat some food and he would be back to how he used to be in no time.

Right now, Naruto, Kakashi and the Akatsuki were sitting around his bed, waiting for him to wake up. Naruto along with Tsunade had told them how the surgery had gone and how it had been heavy on Nagato's body and that he had fallen asleep almost as soon as it was finished. They had all waited outside of the room while the operation had been going on, waiting anxiously for it to be done and to see if it had been a success. While he looked at the unconscious form of his newly discovered relative, Naruto thought back of the way the surgery had gone, remembering when Kurama had taken his body over for the time of the operation. Tsunade had told him later on that it had been the weirdest experience she had ever had, thinking of the surreal feeling to speak to Kurama through the young man's body.

_Flashback_

Naruto closed his eyes and let Kurama slowly take over his body, surrendering control to the demon fox. When the blond reopened his eyes, his usual sky-blue irises were now of a deep red, a sign that Kurama was in charge. Tsunade looked at him with a slightly wary expression, her eyes narrowed as she gazed at him and silently studied him. At this, the face of blond sneered and looked back at her with an annoyed expression.

"Instead of staring at me like that maybe we should get starting on getting those damn rods out of his back and instill chakra into this guy." The Tailed beast said.

"Tch! Now I know from whom the brat gets his foul mouth." The female medic-nin murmured with grumble before looking seriously at the demon fox's red eyes as she told him, "Naruto trusts you, you know. You better not hurt him or betray his trust or I'll find a way to make you pay for it."

"Don't worry about that. The kit is the only one I have complete faith and trust in and I would never do something to make him hate me. There is nothing I wouldn't do for him." Kurama replied seriously, his eyes unwavering as he looked coldly at the blonde hokage.

"_Aw I love you too Kurama." Naruto said within the confine of his own mind with a roguish grin and a teasing tone._

"_Shut up." The demon fox mumbled back in hidden embarrassment before leaving his mind and looking at Tsunade with an inquisitive look as he waited for her to say something._

The fact that it was the Kyubi talking through Naruto's body was extremely weird for the female hokage, as the sight of the young man's usually cheerful and goofy face was now sneering and cynic looking with this smirk plastered on it. But then again, the words the demon fox had just told her had sounded so genuine and sincere that she couldn't help but want to believe him. Maybe he really had changed as Naruto had kept repeating again and again to her as he had tried convincing her to operate Nagato.

"Alright let's get started then." Tsunade said with a small tentative smile to Kurama, offering the tailed beast a peace pact of some sort through it, silently agreeing to give him a chance to show his good will.

Kurama nodded in agreement before beginning to push out some of his chakra into the man's body to both replenish him in chakra but also to help push the rods out of his body, while one of his hands would pull on the rod that his chakra would currently try to push out. Every time a rod would finally come out of Nagato's back, Tsunade would immediately heal the place where the rod had been embedded. One by one the rods were taken out and Kurama's chakra was slowly sipped into the rinnegan holder's body to replenish it. It took them about 5 hours to get all the rods out and to heal Nagato entirely. By the end of it, they were all exhausted, Tsunade and Kurama for having had to concentrate for 5 hours on this surgery, and Nagato because, even though he had been given painkillers to lessen the pain, the act of taking the rods out of his body had been very painful.

_End of flashback_

As Naruto was talking with Kisame and Deidara, and Kakashi with Itachi and Konan, the group suddenly felt movement coming from the bed on which Nagato was lying. Turning their head, they saw the red haired man slowly waking up.

"Nagato! How are you feeling?" Konan asked, immediately going by the rinnegan holder's bedside when she saw the man was coming back to consciousness.

"A bit groggy." Nagato mumbled, as he tried to sit up before being helped by Kisame, who put a pillow behind his back so that he was comfortable, adding when a bit more awake with a small smile, "But I already feel much better. It's been a while since I've felt like that."

Konan's eyes then began to tear up a bit as she looked at the man with an expression of both relief and happiness. Then, without warning, the kunoichi engulfed the red haired man into a breathtaking, bone crushing bear hug.

"Oh Nagato! Thank you Kami! I was so worried! I'm so happy!" the blue haired woman exclaimed, a few tears escaping her eyes as she began to babble in her happiness.

Taken aback, Nagato stayed still for a moment, as he didn't know what to do, before slipping his arms around her frame and hugging her back. Feeling that this was getting really personal and becoming too intimate, the rest of the group silently left the room to let the two some privacy.

"Hey anyone wanna go grab a bite at the sweet shop and have some ice cream?" Naruto proposed at the group, salivating at the prospect of ordering a large bowl with scoops of macadamia nut and strawberry ice cream with lots of fruits, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

"Sure! Lets go!" Deidara exclaimed excitedly at the idea of getting ice cream, beginning to walk with Naruto toward the exit of the hospital with a skip in their steps as they headed to the sweet shop.

As they watched both blonds walk away, Kakashi, Kisame and Itachi shared a knowing glance and a sigh before following the two hyper blonds out of the hospital, already apprehending how the two would be high on sugar afterward because of the ice cream.

Two months have passed since Naruto has been back in the village and the former Akatsuki members had now taken their marks in Konoha. The villagers, who at first had been extremely wary of them, were slowly beginning to get used to their presence inside the village. Their ANBU guards, Neji and Kiba, had actually warmed up to them and were now more hanging out with them than actually watching over them. All of Naruto's friends who had met them had at first had a hard time accepting those ex rogue ninjas. But slowly, they had begun to warm up to them at seeing how Naruto was so comfortable with them and how they were actually kind of cool when they didn't try to be scary. Sometimes they would hang out with each other and have a good time. Naruto was really happy that his friends had come to accept this people he had come to consider as family.

Speaking of the pregnant young man, the Akatsuki group was actually walking to the little cottage to see the blond and Kakashi and they were about to knock on the door when they heard the sweet voice of Naruto yelling at poor Kakashi.

"Did you just call me fat?" the blond exclaimed in a loud scandalized voice.

"Huh oh that's not good." Kisame said with a cringe at the angry tone in the young man's voice as he looked at the door that separated them from an angry Naruto.

"Maybe we should wait a bit until Naruto has calmed down…" Deidara proposed, feeling sympathy for the poor silver haired jonin that was under the wrath of the other blond.

"Fine with me." Itachi replied.

"I don't know how Kakashi-sensei does it to stand Naruto on a daily basis." Kiba commented with a chuckle, standing nonchalantly next to Kisame and Itachi, with Neji next to him.

"Maybe the same way that I do with you." The Hyuga replied, receiving a whine from his lover.

"Oh come on Neji! Why do you have to be like that?" the young man exclaimed, sounding like he was pouting behind his mask, "I'm not THAT hard to live with."

"If you say so." The long chocolate haired man mumbled, getting even more whining and bitching from his fanged lover.

During this time, Naruto was still yelling at Kakashi, mad at him for a comment he had made.

"I don't think you are fat Naruto." The jonin said with a weary sigh, rubbing his temples, as it was the tenth time he was saying this to his overly sentimental pregnant lover.

"Then why did you call me fat?" the young man asked with a glare.

"I never called you fat, I just said that we should maybe start buying pregnancy clothes for when you begin to show." The silver haired man replied in an intended gentle voice to try and soften his fiery blond.

Unfortunately for him it didn't work.

"Thank you!" the blond exclaimed like Kakashi had just supported his point, making the jonin rather confused.

"What?" he asked confusedly.

"You just proved my point. You do think I'm fat and that I'm going to get even more fat!" Naruto said angrily, burning holes into his older lover.

"You are not going to get fat!" the jonin exclaimed getting rather frustrated by the situation, "It's just that our child is going to grow more and more and that soon your body will begin to stretch to accommodate the baby. When that happens, your clothes won't be adapted anymore."

Naruto looked at him for a minute disbelievingly, a pout on his face, looking like he was considering the words of the silver haired man. Then, after a time of what seemed to be deliberations, the young man's face features softened as he looked at his lover in the eyes.

"Alright, I'll believe you." He said, with his arms crossed as he looked seriously at his lover.

"Thank you." The jonin replied with a relieved sigh, the storm was passed.

At this moment, the two men heard a knock on the door. As they opened the door the cheerful smiling faces of the Akatsuki were waiting for them.

"Hey guys what's up?" Deidara said with a grin, "We came to hang out here for a bit. Is that okay?"

"Sure, sure come in." Naruto replied with a smile, making a gesture for them to enter, before heading to the kitchen, "I'll go make some tea."

As Kakashi looked at the face of each former member of the Akatsuki his eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion at the group.

"You were waiting for Naruto's fit to be done weren't you?" he asked rhetorically, his voice full of accusation.

As a response, the jonin received roguish wide grins from everyone, except of course Itachi, making him scowl at the group slightly in resentment. Surprisingly, Nagato, who looked much more cheerful and vigorous since his operation, had also been one of the ones smiling.

Meanwhile, in a place where it used to be the base of the Akatsuki, a young man with short raven hair was walking through a corridor, in search for something, or more precisely someone specific. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, and dark blue pants with a blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees, with a purple rope belt around his waist, tied in a bow, in which he carried his sword. He also wore black arm-guards that covered his forearms and stretched up to reach his upper biceps. The young man finally arrived in front of a door, which he opened slowly and carefully, his sharingan activated as he looked to be ready to react in case there were some traps or something else lurking and waiting to attack him. Then his eyes focused on a corner of the room he had just entered, feeling a presence and locating it. The room was so dark that the young man couldn't see the person's face and could barely define his figure.

"Itachi is not here." The mysterious person said.

"Then maybe you can tell me where I can find him." The raven-haired young man replied, slightly drawing his sword out of his sheathe in a threatening manner.

"I don't think this is how you ask someone for information." The stranger told the young man in a calm voice, sounding not affected whatsoever by the threatening posture of the latter.

Without more preamble or warning, the raven-haired young man charged the mysterious man, his sword completely drawn and pointing at him. The other man dodged his attack with surprising stealth before grabbing his arm and twisting it roughly to make him drop his weapon, pressing the tip of a kunai with his other hand to the base of the young man's neck.

"Let's make a deal shall we?" the stranger proposed in a relaxed manner, sounding just slightly amused at the eagerness and rash behavior of the young man.

Turning his head back to look at the man that was currently controlling him with a kunai pressed against him threateningly, sharingan met sharingan and the pale alabaster face of Sasuke met the orange masked one of Tobi. For a moment, Sasuke seemed to consider the other man's words before staring unemotionally straight into the eyes of the masked man.

"What kind of deal do you propose?" the raven-haired young man asked with his usual scowl on his face.

Satisfied of the young man's response, Tobi released Sasuke, putting the kunai back into his sleeve while the young man was turning around to fully face him.

"I will help you fulfilling your revenge on Itachi IF you help me obtain something I want dearly." The masked man told him.

"And what is this thing?" Sasuke asked.

"Right now, the Kyubi's jinchuriki Naruto Uzumaki is pregnant." The other man began to explain, "On the day of his delivery, I want you help me steal both Naruto and his baby's chakra as well as extracting the Kyubi."

"Alright I accept." The young Uchiha agreed in a grunt before saying with a stern demanding voice, "Now tell me where Itachi is."

"Right now your dear older brother is living in Konoha and is playing babysitter with your former best friend along with the rest of the scums who decided to desert the Akatsuki." Tobi said, closely studying the reaction of the young man.

At hearing this, Sasuke's widened almost imperceptibly for a second before narrowing in silent rage. So Konoha had accepted Itachi back into the village and he was living as a free man? Though he wasn't part of this village anymore, the young Uchiha couldn't help the mad fury that enveloped him at knowing that the village he had once been part of accommodated the murderer of his entire clan. If Konoha was on this man's side, then everyone living in it was to be considered traitor and would suffer and pay as well for what they did.

"Are you alone?" the voice of Tobi pulled the young Uchiha out of his dark thoughts of revenge for a moment, and made him look up at him once again.

"I told them to wait for me outside." The young man simply replied, as a mention to three following people, who were waiting at the entrance of the base: Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu.

"Go get them. We need to talk about how we are going to plan and do everything to achieve both of our goals." The masked man told him.

As he looked at the young man walk away to go bring back the members of his gang, Tobi couldn't help but smirk behind his mask. Maybe he had lost Itachi as well as Nagato, but now he had Itachi's little brother. Oh how revenge was sweet! He had now one of the most convenient allies. One consumed with hatred and revenge. Now all he had to do was intensify the great resentment the young man had now for Konoha and turn it into a burning hatred that would become as destructive as his desire to kill his brother.

'Be prepared Naruto Uzumaki, soon enough I will come for you and use your former best friend against you to make all your chakra and the one of your offspring mine.' The masked sharingan bearer thought with a dark chuckle.

In the mean time, life went on in Konoha, completely unaware of the schemes that were being planned against the village and its inhabitants.

A month had now passed and today a festival was being held in Konoha. Everyone was excited about it as it was the anniversary of the village's foundation. Theater pieces and games of every sort had been organized for the event and a firework show would be launched on midnight to announce the end of the festival. Everyone was enjoying the festivities, having tasty food while playing some games and watching actors reenact famous comedies and theater pieces. Right now, the group of former Akatsuki members, Nagato, Konan, Kisame, Itachi and Deidara, were all dressed in yukatas and were apparently waiting for someone.

"Hey guys! Sorry we're late!" the voice of Naruto yelled suddenly, making them turn their head toward the sound, seeing the blond and Kakashi walk up to them, both dressed in yukatas as well.

Now four months pregnant, there was a small visible bump on the young man's stomach that you could see through the fine material of his yukata. Now that the morning sickness were over, Naruto's skin had a much more healthy looking skin, and the now visible bump that was proof of his pregnant state gave the blond a certain glow.

"Hey kiddo! How are you?" Kisame asked, ruffling the blonde's hair fondly.

"I'm great." The young man answered with a bright smile, looking rather giddy before telling them in an excited voice, "But there is even better! The baby moved for the first time today!"

"What?" everyone exclaimed in astonishment, looking at Kakashi for confirmation, the latter looking very happy and proud as he put his arm around Naruto's waist.

"Yeah! That's one of the reasons why we were late actually." Kakashi explained with a big goofy smile that didn't seem to want to disappear from his face.

_Flashback_

"Naruto I promise, you look fine." Kakashi told his lover for the hundredth time with a sigh.

"Are you sure this yukata doesn't make my bump look bigger?" the blond insisted, twisting his body right and left as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"I assure you it doesn't. Now come on or we are going to be late." The jonin told him, trying to make the young man hurry.

"Alright." Naruto agreed, reluctantly looking away from his reflection in the mirror and beginning to walk out of their bedroom when he suddenly stopped, his hands flying to his stomach as he let out a surprised gasp.

Noticing that his young lover had stopped, Kakashi turned around to look at his lover before rushing to his side when he saw the expression on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong love?" he asked frantically, feeling worried that something might be wrong with the baby.

"It moved." The blond murmured in awe, getting a confused look from the older man before he explained, "The baby, it just moved!"

Without waiting for a response from his lover, the young man grabbed the silver haired man's hand and put it on his slightly swollen stomach. After a few seconds, the jonin could feel something pushing against his hand inside Naruto's belly. With eyes as wide as saucers in amazement, Kakashi stared at the blonde's stomach speechless. Another kick happened, this time a bit stronger. Happiness began to flood the jonin body as he looked up at his lover who was glowing in happiness as well. Overjoyed, the silver haired man pulled the young man into a searing kiss, transmitting all his love and pride into it. Though they of course already knew they were having a baby, this simple action from the little being that was growing inside Naruto was making it even more real for them. When the kiss ended, Kakashi slid down to face the belly of his lover, where his future child was growing steadily, and kissed it before lying his head on it lightly, hugging the blonde's waist as he spoke to it.

"Hey baby it's your papa." He whispered with a smile, while gently rubbing the swollen stomach while his young lover was looking down at him with a soft loving gaze while caressing his head, "Your daddy and I can't wait for you to come into this world and to see you you know. We love you very much."

This went on for a couple of minutes where the couples just celebrated the fact that they felt their future child move for the first time before they realized that they really needed to leave and get going.

_End of flashback _

"Is she moving right now?" Konan asked eagerly, wanting to feel the baby move.

"She?" Nagato asked with an eyebrow rose in question.

"Well yeah! It's going to be a girl!" the blue haired woman replied with assurance.

"Nah it's going to be a boy!" Deidara said with a shake of his head.

"What do you know? It could very well be a girl!" the origami specialist kunoichi told him with a frown.

"I can ask you the same thing! It could very well be a boy!" the explosion specialist replied, "How can you know it will be a girl?"

"Woman's intuition." Konan said in a matter of fact tone of voice, looking at the blond shinobi as if that was the most logical thing.

"Tch! Yeah right! I'm telling you, it's going to be boy. Right Naruto?" the bomber replied, turning to the other blond for confirmation.

"Well I don't know which it will be but I have this feeling that it's going to be a girl." The young man said as he softly rubbed his stomach.

"Really? Me I think it will be a boy as well." Kakashi commented with a mildly curious expression on his face.

"Well I have no idea on which it will be and I don't really care if it is either but I have to say that a girl could be nice." Kisame commented as well getting many surprised stares from his companions, including Itachi who looked at him with curiosity, saying in a defensive tone, "What? I really think having a little girl in the gang would be nice. After all the only girl of this group is Konan."

"I think you've forgotten to count us in." A voice suddenly intervened making everyone turn on the newcomers who were Sakura and Hinata, the latter shyly greeting them with a wave and a smile as she stood next to her girlfriend, who was standing with her fists on her hips as she looked at the group with a smile, "After all, I believe we are also part of Naruto's life."

"Oh yeah sorry." The shark like man said with a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

When Sakura had first met the Akatsuki, the encounter had been rather intense as Deidara still resented her slightly for killing Sasori and the pink haired kunoichi just had a hard time trusting the former Akatsuki group. But after a while, they had started to warm up to each other to the point that they actually became quite good friends and would sometimes hang out together. It had been the same with almost every other friend of Naruto. The start would be cold and distant but then, as time went by, they would actually get along. Now every friends of Naruto had met and warmed up to the ex rogue-nins group and they would sometimes even organize evening where they would have with each other.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Sakura asked in curiosity.

"Naruto's baby moved for the first time today." Deidara told her, adding with a smirk, "And now we are arguing about what gender it will be."

But before Sakura could give her opinion on the matter, a loud voice was heard calling Kakashi.

"Ah Kakashi! My eternal rival! How are you on this fine youthful day?" Guy exclaimed, as he and Lee, who was accompanying him, approached the group.

"Hey Guy. Long time no see huh?" Kakashi replied in a nonchalant manner.

"Yes! I was on glorious mission where I had to use all my youthful skills to achieve it! Fortunately Lee was with me and helped me finish it!" the self-proclaimed Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey said with a big smile as he threw a soft glance at his lover.

"Might Guy." Kisame said with a smirk as he looked at the man with thick eyebrows, "It's been a while since I've last seen you."

"Who are you?" Guy asked, looking curiously at the swordsman, who looked really annoyed as you could see a vein throbbing on his temple while he glared at him.

Before the shark like man could try to kill the airhead thick brows jonin, Itachi stepped up and greeted the man.

"Hello Guy-san," the Uchiha said with a slight nod as he looked intently at him.

Guy looked at the long dark haired man for a moment before nodding as well.

"Hi. I learned a few days ago when I came back that you and some Akatsuki members had been allowed to integrate the village." Guy said with a small smile, "Tsunade-sama explained the whole reason and I hope you will accept my deepest regrets and good wishes for the future."

"Thank you Guy-san." Itachi thanked with a slight formal bow, before Kisame took his hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"How are you Naruto-kun?" Lee asked as he walked to the pregnant young man with a smile, Guy following close behind him, "We should train together someday. It seems like you have been a bit careless. Your sto...humph!"

Before the young man could finish his sentence both Deidara and Sakura had put a hand on his mouth, effectively stopping him from saying something that they knew would make the blond be distraught as he was very self-conscious. Then Sakura whispered rapidly in his ear, briefing him on the situation. Lee's eyes lit in both comprehension and astonishment before looking at Naruto with wide eyes.

"Oh Kami! Naruto, my youthful friend, you are pregnant?" the young man exclaimed with a grin, hugging fiercely the blond and congratulating him.

Guy, who had also just been briefed by Sakura, went to Kakashi and smacked him on the back in a congratulatory manner.

"Congratulations Kakashi! The love between you and your youthful lover is going to create a new life. Thanks to your vigorous sperm the youth of this village will be perpetuated!" the man exclaimed with a wide grin in the silver haired jonin's direction, the latter looking more and more mortified as his friend began to talk about his sperm and other embarrassing stuff such as the fertile womb of Naruto etc.

Wanting his friend to shut up before he died of embarrassment, Kakashi hit the man upside the head with his fist, effectively silencing him.

Everyone was laughing openly at the whole thing, making both Kakashi and Naruto blush a nice shade of red in utter embarrassment.

"Okay let's get going before this idiot is well enough to spout more embarrassing nonsense." Kakashi mumbled as he began to head toward where the festivities were, Naruto on his side, his arms hooked with his.

After that, the little group enjoyed themselves, having fun playing some of the games such as catching fishes with thin paper nets.

Nagato and Konan could be seen at some stand where you had to throw a ball and try to make all the piled canisters fall in one go, the red haired man having apparently just won, and handing a big stuffed bear to the blue haired woman who looked over joyed as she hugged and kissed the man on the cheek in thanks, making the latter blush heavily.

Deidara and Sakura were apparently in some sort of contest to see who could catch the more fishes, Hinata looking at them with amusement, while Guy and Lee were for once the calm ones as they just drank some tea while eating dangos at a stand. As for Itachi, the long dark haired man was currently asking Kisame if he would share with a caramel apple with him, pretexting that he couldn't eat a whole one, while looking anywhere but at the shark like man, with a pink hue on his cheeks. Soon Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten, and the rest of the gang joined them as well, all having fun with together.

Naruto and Kakashi, who were currently sitting at a yakitori stand where they were enjoying some chicken and vegetables kebabs, looked at their friends joking and just having fun with each other with a smile, happy that everyone was getting along. Putting his head on his lover's shoulder, Naruto smiled softly as he felt extremely happy right now. Life was good. He had awesome friends, a great lover and he was going to be a dad in a few months. He and Kakashi spent the rest of the day being with their friends and having fun, enjoying the different stands and filling their stomach with diverse delicious snacks, and sweets before watching the colorful fireworks with some tea to keep them warm in the cool summer night air.

A few days later, Naruto was sitting with his legs crossed on the ground of one of the training grounds, meditating and molding chakra inside his body. For weeks now, the young man had been training with Kurama on controlling his chakra as well as the demon fox's one. He had gotten much better at controlling them both and Kurama was a strict teacher, scolding him every time he would fail but also fussing over him every time he would feel tired. He could now lift rocks and pile them up, and he could change in his Tailed Beast form. Though he was technically able to create a Tailed Beast bomb, Kurama had told him that training on mastering it would comport the risk of hurting his unborn child and so had told him that he would work on it when he had given birth.

"_Alright let's stop there for today Naruto." Kurama told the blond within the confines of his mind, "You have mastered the technique. Now the only thing you can do is keep practicing at molding chakra and meditate. You can't progress any further as long as you are with child."_

"_Okay." The young man said as he stood up from his sitting position, stretching until he felt the satisfying pop sound in his joint._

Sitting on the ground was really not the best especially in his state, but thankfully he had Kurama as well as babysitters to take care of him, bringing him a pillow to sit for example, so he knew he had nothing to worry about. Talking about babysitters, Naruto turned around to look at Itachi, who was the one to watch over him today. He slowly walked up to him while the Uchiha, who had been sitting while watching his training going on, stood up.

"You have become really good at controlling the Tailed Beast mode Naruto-kun." The long dark haired man said in praise, "For a moment I really thought it was the Kyu…I mean Kurama who was in front of me. You have become stronger."

"Thanks." The blond said with a smile, rubbing his stomach, a habit he had taken up to do every now and then.

"You are ready to go home?" Itachi asked.

"Actually I thought we could go see Inari-neesan first. It's been a long time since I have seen her and so I would like to pay her a visit." The young man replied, "Plus I have something that I want to go buy at the market."

"Alright." The Uchiha agreed, beginning to walk along side the blond toward the city center where the hospital was.

After having visited Inari and talked for a bit with the nurse, Naruto and Itachi were walking toward the covered market when the figure of a familiar ponytail chunin teacher came into view.

"Hey Naruto!" Iruka called with a smile as he waved at his former student.

"Ah! Iruka-sensei! It's been so long since I've last seen you!" the young man exclaimed with a smile of his own, trotting toward the man he considered like a second father in some ways, Itachi following after him with worried eyes as he watched the pregnant blond that was practically running.

"Well if someone didn't always disappear for training or got kidnapped it would have been easier to see you." the brown haired man replied in a mock scold, looking fondly at the young man before his eyes landed on the small visible bump and he said in a light joking tone, "And as I can see there's been a few changes since I've last seen you."

Naruto chuckled lightly while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah sorry about that, so much has happened in the last few months and it took me a while to get used to all those new things in my life that I didn't get to see much people until recently." the blond explained with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright I understand. Just know that I will always be there for you if you need me." Iruka told him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder before he added with a smile that could have passed for friendly but was more stern and demanding than anything else, promising hell if the young man refused as he added, "But now that you are free, we can go have some ramen at Ichiraku and catch up."

"Sure but can we just go somewhere else than Ichiraku?" Naruto asked with a slight sad expression on his face.

"Huh? You don't like ramen anymore?" the ponytail chunin asked confused.

"More like the baby doesn't like ramen." the young man mumbled grudgingly.

Iruka looked at Itachi in confusion, the Uchiha just smirked and shrugged as if to say 'don't dwell too much on it'.

They then went to a Yakiniku restaurant, ordering two plates of meat and vegetables with different marinades. As the meat and vegetables were cooking on the charcoal grill, Naruto and Iruka talked while enjoying the rice and mushroom miso soup that were the side dishes, Naruto being the one who mostly talked as he told his former teacher about everything that had happened since the last time they had seen each other.

"Wow, I can't believe how much has happened to you." the brown haired man commented after Naruto had finished briefing him on everything that had happened to him, "You have really been busy huh?"

"Yep! But I don't regret any of it. I'm really happy with the way my life is right now." Naruto said with a smile, unconsciously rubbing his swollen stomach.

"I can see that." Iruka replied as he looked at the blonde's gesture, giving a soft smile, "I'm really happy for you and I'm sure you are going to be a great parent. And I hope that Kakashi-san is taking care of you properly."

"Oh yeah he is. He is a bit overprotective sometimes but other than that he is perfect. I really couldn't think of anyone else better to spend my life with." the young man said with a sweet smile as his mind drifted off to his lover.

Slightly surprised by the blonde's statement, Iruka looked at Naruto in astonishment for a moment his face softened and smiled.

"When I think back of your days at the Academy and where you are now, I realize how much you have grown in such a short time. I'm very proud of everything you have accomplished you know." the brown haired chunin said, a sense of fatherly pride in his voice, "I sometimes think some things in your life may have happened too fast, but I am still happy for you."

"Though I think I should have a talk with Kakashi-san and know exactly his intentions toward you." he added in a tone that wanted to be light but you could hear the serious tone into it, "After all, you are living together and now he got you pregnant. You two are going to be parents and it's a lot of responsibilities."

"You are all such a bunch of overprotective worrywarts." Naruto mumbled in a good-natured tone of voice, looking amusedly at the man he considered his father figure before taking some of the meat and a lot of the vegetables, which since he was pregnant he had come to sometimes crave to his great displeasure, that were on the grill.

Next to the blond, Itachi looked at the both of them interact with a small smile, being happy for the blond that he had someone in his life that acted like a parent figure and tried to keep him on track and watched over him from afar. The three men continued their meal while chatting, Itachi being sometimes part of the conversation while the rest of the time he just ate and watch in silence, letting Naruto enjoy his time with his former sensei.

_TBC_

**As you see a lot has happened. And a few questions you might have had have been answered. ;)**

**I'm sorry to bother you again but here is the link to an on-line petition:**

**www. change petitions/ fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net (just take off the spaces)**

**Though I don't know if it'll have any weight on FFnet, I think it's worth a try.**

**Anyway thank you for all the lovely reviews. Keep showing your love and support! :D**

**I hope you've liked this chapter and that you are looking forward to the next chapter because I can tell you that a lot things are going to happen. ;)**

**Cheers!**


	32. The Return of an Old Friend

"I like Fukuo." Kakashi proposed in a weary hopeful voice, sitting in a booth with Naruto next to him and Inari as well as Iyashi in front of them.

"Why do you keep on insisting that it is going to be a boy?" the silver haired man's lover replied in an irritated tone, "I keep telling you it's going to be a girl! I'm the one who is carrying it after all, I think I know better than you what gender it is!"

For the last hour, Kakashi and Naruto had been arguing about what sex the baby would be and the names while Inari and Iyashi watched the argument go on between the two.

"Why did you ask them if they knew the gender of the baby yet?" Inari asked her brother in a painful whining voice.

"Hey you are the one who got things worse by asking if they had names yet." The medic-nin replied, a painful expression on his face as well.

They had just met to hang out and have a meal together, and everything had went well until Iyashi had asked his innocent question, which had started an argument between the two lovers about who was right.

"Oi guys! Why don't you just pick names for both genders, so like that when Tsunade-sama proves who was right, you already have agreed on a name?" Inari proposed interrupting the two men's argument, making them pose and look at her with a thoughtful look on their face.

"Sounds fair." Naruto said, turning back to look at Kakashi and ask him silently if he agreed.

"I agree." Kakashi replied with a nod.

"Well we progress this is the first thing you both agree on since the beginning of the conversation." Inari mumbled grumpily glaring at the two stubborn men, "So let's see first how you would like to name your child if it was a boy."

"What about Miyabi?" Kakashi proposed.

"Sounds too posh." Naruto replied with a negative shake of his head, "What about Luka?"

"I don't know." The jonin said with a slight grimace, "I don't really like the sound of this name."

"Really? Well I like the sound of it." The blond said with a pout.

"What do you think of Nowaki?" the silver haired man told his younger over.

"Tch! And if it's a girl you are going to name her Ame?" the young man asked sardonically.

"Then how about Ryusaku?" Kakashi proposed beginning to sound a little irritated.

"Why do you hate our kid?" Naruto asked with a deadpanned expression and accusing tone as he looked at his lover.

"Alright, alright that's enough!" Inari exclaimed putting her fist on the table to break the oncoming argument "Isn't there someone you both admire and appreciate and whose name you would like to give it to your kid?"

Both men looked at each other for moment before smiling softly and turning their eyes toward the nurse before both speaking and saying a name.

"Minato." Kakashi said, while Naruto said another name at the same time.

"Haku." The blond said.

After hearing the other's name that they had said, the two men looked at each other in surprise, before frowning and staring at each other as if to see who would back down first.

"This is the perfect time to honor the memory of your father." The jonin told his young lover in a stern tone.

"Well I'm sorry if I don't feel like naming my child after him, but the only thing he has done for me was putting Kurama inside me. And thanks to that I've been an outcast for the majority of my childhood." The young man replied with a glare, "So I'm sorry but I prefer naming my child after someone who inspired and taught me a great life lesson. Someone that I respect greatly and with whose name I wish my child to be as nice and as great of a human being as he was."

"I'm not saying that my father hasn't inspired me or that I don't respect him." Naruto added as he saw that his lover was about to protest vehemently, "I'm just saying that the only way I've known him is through what people told me about him and books. Haku is actually someone I've known and talked to. It's easier to feel close to him than to someone I've only known through others even if he was my father."

For a moment, the two men stared at each other in a contest of will. Then, after a few seconds, Kakashi let out a sigh and his expression softened.

"Alright. If it is a boy, we will name him Haku." The silver haired man said.

Naruto smiled gratefully at his lover, taking the older man's hand in his and squeezing it affectionately.

"Thank you." The young man said softly with a smile.

"You're welcome." the jonin replied, smiling back at his young pregnant lover.

"Alright you two marshmallows, now you have to pick a name for a girl." Inari intervened once again; bursting the small bubble the two had been in.

The two men looked at each and nodded, as if in agreement before turning to the nurse and giving a name.

"Choko."

"Fuyuka."

At hearing the other's choice, Kakashi and Naruto glared slightly in annoyance at each other, while Inari and Iyashi sighed heavily. Tonight was going to be a very very long night.

The next day Tsunade was doing a check up on Naruto, looking if everything was fine, when the blonde medic-nin asked something out of the blue that took the young man aback.

"Itachi was supposed to come here to pass a medical examination yesterday but he never showed up. Would you know the reason why?" the female hokage asked genuinely as she cleaned and sterilized her tools.

At hearing this, Naruto frowned worriedly and looked up at Kisame, who had been the one to accompany him to his appointment, as Kakashi hadn't been able to due to a mission. As he looked at the shark like man with a questioning look, the swordsman nodded at him, silently agreeing to tell the woman whatever he intended to tell her.

"Hum Tsunade-baachan? Has Itachi ever told you about his predicament?" Naruto asked cautiously, testing the waters as he wanted to know how much the blonde medic-nin knew about the Uchiha, as he knew that Itachi was very discreet and secretive especially when it came to him.

"What predicament?" the female hokage asked, turning abruptly toward the blond and Kisame, her eyes narrowing, "Naruto if you know something you better tell me, especially if it concerns Itachi's health."

Naruto then began to tell Tsunade everything he knew, Kisame adding some things here and there as he knew slightly more than the young man. They explained to the blonde medic-nin how a mysterious illness had fallen on Itachi, who had tried finding a remedy by going to various doctors but hadn't found any, and how the use of the Mangekyou sharingan was hurting his eyes and quickly making him go blind.

After learning all those things, the female hokage stayed silent for a moment, contemplating everything she had just learned and analyzing it. Then, her eyes suddenly lit in both realization and excitement.

"I need his blood!" she exclaimed excitedly, sounding like she had blurted out a part of an internal reasoning that had been going on in her mind.

"Huh?" both Naruto and Kisame asked in confusion, looking at the woman with a lost expression.

"I need a sample of Itachi's blood to determine what type of illness he has." Tsunade explained becoming all professional like, "From what you have told me, the symptoms of this disease that Itachi is experiencing look eerily like the ones I had discovered on this guy Kimimaro when I had examined his corpse that the retrieval team had brought back."

"The bone dude?" Naruto asked in surprise, "I didn't know he was sick at that time."

"Yes and for quite a long time apparently. But that is not the important thing," the blonde medic-nin said, "the important thing is that as I discovered this, I also worked on a way of curing it, in case someone in our village caught this mysterious disease."

"And did you manage to find a cure?" Kisame asked eagerly in a hopeful manner.

"Yes but," the female hokage said, adding the last word as Naruto and Kisame were beginning to smile and look very excited, "Had it been at an early stage, a medicine would have suffice. However, especially at an advanced stage of the illness, a surgery needs to be done and it can be a rather dangerous one."

"How dangerous?" Kisame asked gulping down the knot that had formed inside his throat at the woman's words.

"I will only be able to tell you once I have analyzed some of Itachi's blood." Tsunade replied, "This is why you need to bring him to me as soon as possible so that I can determine exactly what he has and what we need to do."

"Okay. Then don't go anywhere baachan we are going to bring him to you." Naruto said determinedly, walking out of the room with Kisame in toe while Tsunade looked at them in surprised curiosity, an amused smirk etching on her face.

'Ah young people are so rash.' she thought with an amused shake of her head.

Almost a hour later, Tsunade saw Kisame and Naruto walking inside the examination room with a slightly sulking Itachi.

"Wow you came back really fast." The blonde medic-nin commented impressed, her eyebrows raised in surprise, "How did you manage to convince him?"

"Naruto told him that if he did it he would be the godfather of his child." Kisame said with a laugh, making the Uchiha throw a glare at him.

"Now you can take some of his blood and analyze it so that we can finally know what he has." Naruto told the female hokage as he went to sit on a chair.

"Alright, Itachi if you will." Tsunade said, gesturing to the examination table where the long dark haired man reluctantly went to sit on.

After taking a blood sample from the Uchiha and analyzing it, Tsunade asked the man a few questions more or less intrusive, to which he answered grudgingly under the stern and vigilant eyes of Naruto and Kisame.

"As I thought you have the exact same illness as this Kimimaro guy had." The blonde medic-nin said in a serious expression, "As such, the good thing is that I know how to cure you with an operation. But the bad thing is that due to the advanced state of your disease Itachi, the surgery has a 48% chance of succeeding and you take the risk of worsening the disease to the point that your body can't take it anymore."

"Which means that I would die correct?" Itachi asked unemotionally, earning shocked gasps from Naruto and Kisame.

"Correct." The female hokage replied gravely.

"_Kurama can't we use your chakra to heighten the chances of success of the surgery?" Naruto asked desperately to the Tailed Beast._

"_Sorry kit. My chakra is not made for medical chakra. It worked well for Nagato only because there was a need for chakra replenishing and taking out the rods he had on his back." The demon fox replied with an apologetic voice._

"_I see." The blond said with a slight sad voice filled with worry, "I guess it can't be helped."_

"Itachi, what are you going to do?" Kisame asked with a worried and conflicted expression on his face.

Both him and Naruto felt conflicted. Of course they wanted Itachi to get better, but did they want it to the risk of losing him during the surgery? This time nothing could be forced on the Uchiha as it concerned his own life. He would have to make the decision himself and the rest of them would have to accept it no matter what.

Itachi looked at Kisame for a moment before looking at the conflicted face of Naruto and then at Tsunade's stone face, who was waiting patiently for him to make his choice.

"I'll do it." The Uchiha agreed with a nod of his head, his face not showing any emotion.

"Oh one more thing." Tsunade said, looking intensely at the long dark haired man, "I have done some research on the Uchiha clan and I have some very ancient books that talk about the eternal Mangekyou sharingan."

At the last words, Itachi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly and his eyes narrowed on the female hokage.

"I know you probably won't like that but I have kept the sharingans Danzo had implanted on him and I propose you to implant two of…" the blonde medic-nin began to tell him but was interrupted by the Uchiha who looked furious, a multitude of emotions passing through his eyes.

"No!" Itachi said in curt stern voice, sounding like he didn't want to talk about this any further.

"But Itachi it would resolve your eye problem and you wouldn't become blind anymore." Tsunade argued, trying to reason the Uchiha.

"I said no." the long dark haired man replied in a firm tone, "I will not use the eyes of my dead brethren to cure my blindness."

"Itachi!" Naruto said in a forceful voice, looking sternly at the Uchiha as he said the following words, "Don't you think you owe the Uchiha clan that much? Don't you think that after having murdered them for the peace of the village you could use their eyes for a noble cause? By using their eyes you can keep on serving the village and work on making this peace that we all want and work really hard to achieve reality. So you will take accept those eyes and continue on living, and show to everyone the kind of man you are and that we all know you can become."

Speechless, everyone in the room looked at the blond, gaping in shock at the young man's words. Knowing he didn't have much choice anymore after such a speech, Itachi agreed on having two of the sharingans that Danzo had to be implanted in him to replace his eyes.

"Well since everything has been settled. I propose to do the surgery tomorrow. The sooner it is done, the better it will be." Tsunade said with a weary sight, massaging her temples.

"Agreed." Itachi replied, while Naruto and Kisame just nodded their agreement.

This is how the next day Itachi was being operated. The rest of the Akatsuki as well as Naruto were waiting outside of the operation room, waiting for the end of it and to know how it had gone, Kisame pacing nervously in the hallway. Sakura was actually the one along with Shizune to assist Tsunade in this very delicate surgery. Kakashi was still on his mission and he was supposed to come back today but Naruto wished the jonin could have been there right now with him. He was really really scared the operation wouldn't go well and was really worried for Itachi. Though he couldn't even begin to imagine how Kisame must have been feeling right now as he was the person the closest to Itachi.

A few hours later, Tsunade along with Sakura opened the door and walked out of the operation room, the little group that had been waiting standing up immediately and looking expectantly at the two medical kunoichis. Tsunade looked at them all before giving them a big smile.

"Everything went well." She told them, "I have given him sedatives so that he can rest and painkillers for his eyes. He will have his eyes bandaged for a week or two before his eyes are healed enough for them to be exposed to the world's luminosity."

Everyone let out a relieved sigh at the news and relaxed, happy that Itachi was all right and that his operation had gone well. They then stayed for the rest of the day at Itachi's bedside, sometimes sending someone to get some food and drink, Kisame always staying by Itachi's side and holding his hand in his, while waiting for the Uchiha to wake up.

When Itachi woke up, he was a bit groggy and grumpy but the rest of the group didn't care one bit for the Uchiha's moodiness, as they were just happy to see him awake and well. Once they had seen that he was doing well and that he was well taken care of, everyone except Kisame left and went to Naruto's house, escorting the young man to his place and waiting with him that Kakashi was back.

Once Kakashi was back, Naruto quickly briefed him on everything that had happened while he was away and they celebrated together the news about Itachi, Kakashi knowing how much the Uchiha counted in his lover's life and liking him as well. Happy to have his older lover back to his side, the two of them had stayed alone in their house, enjoying each other as much as possible.

Naruto was now five months pregnant and was now showing a lot, none of his clothes big enough to hide his bump anymore and he was now obliged to wear pregnancy clothes. Of course at first he had made quite a fuss about having to wear maternity clothes. But once he had put those very comfortable clothes on, Naruto had fallen in love with them and had bought a dozen of them. Though, as there weren't obviously any maternity clothes for males, the blond had had to shop into the female section of the shops. As such, he had now a rather girlish look to him with his clothes, which surprisingly didn't bother Naruto much. As for Kakashi, the silver haired actually thought it was kind of sexy, finding the young man really cute with women clothes on and a visible baby bump. This feminine side making the older man rather aroused every time he looked at his curves that were slightly accentuated with the pregnancy and the clothes. When he was looking at his lover, he couldn't help but have all sorts of kinky thoughts in his head appear.

And thankfully for him, ever since being pregnant, the blond had a very high libido and was aroused all the time, trying to get a piece of his older lover anywhere and whenever he could. The silver haired man had actually quite a hard time following with his younger lover's libido, getting jumped on every time he came back from a mission even if he had been absent for only a day. It had come to the point where Naruto had actually kissed the jonin senseless in the middle of the street and had tried to grope and fondle him into Tsunade's office, right in front of the female hokage. This episode had been one of the most embarrassing one in Kakashi's life. The damn woman hadn't even tried to help him stop Naruto and had just watched with great amusement the jonin trying to pry the blonde's hand away from his crotch.

Right now, the silver haired man was sitting in the living room of the Uchiha compound with Kisame and Itachi, who had had the bandages around his eyes taken off just a few days ago, having finally escaped his horny lover by going to the least possible place he would find him in. Kakashi had no problem with Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki group but he had had no reason to come to the Uchiha compound up until now as they would always come to his house. As he took a gulp of the sake that Kisame had served to him as well as himself, while Itachi was drinking some iced tea oolong tea, the jonin let out a heavy sigh.

"I don't know what to do anymore. It's like he has no control over his urges." Kakashi said, racking his brain to try and find a way to lower down his young lover's sex drive while taking another gulp of his sake, the alcohol erasing his inhibitions and the normal reluctance he would have of talking about his sex life with others, "Don't get me wrong it's rather flattering and exciting to be desired so much but there is so much I can take before I explode. I mean, how much stamina can he have to still be ready for another round while you already have had 3 of them?"

Kisame and Itachi looked at each other rather uncomfortably. Talking about the sex life of their 'little brother' with the latter's lover wasn't really something they had wanted to ever experience but unfortunately for them it seemed that they didn't have much of a choice as the silver haired man was apparently determined to talk to them about it.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-san I don't think we can be of much help in this matter. We have never experienced life with a pregnant person ourselves so we don't really know anything." the Uchiha said apologetically, "Maybe he will calm down after some time."

"I know. But right now it's driving me crazy." Kakashi said with a small groan, "I'm not as young as before, and even though I still have some time in front of me. I have a hard time keeping up with a 16 years old pregnant young man."

"Urghh! Okay listen. It feels really awkward talking about yours and Naruto's sex life, but I might have an idea on how you could manage to get him off your back for a bit." Kisame told the jonin, letting out a moan of embarrassment at the thought at what he was about to say, a deep red beginning to etch onto his cheeks but his eyes showing determination and seriousness, "You need to give him a night that is so intense physically, so deeply passionate and pleasurable that the kid will be out of it as soon as it is over. It needs to be so intense that he doesn't even remember his own name, and I can promise you that after that, he will be so satisfied that he will let you alone for a while."

Both Kakashi and Itachi looked at the swordsman with open mouths and eyes as wide as saucers. With pink cheeks, Kakashi gulped down the uncomfortable lump that had formed in his throat as he had just heard the shark like man tell him that he had to give the best night of his life to his lover. However, Itachi was looking at Kisame with a glassy look, a certain glow in his eyes shining in his eyes as he stared at the man.

"Well there it is Kakashi-san." The long dark haired man said, suddenly standing up, barely even throwing a glance toward the jonin, "I wish you good luck with Naruto-kun."

Without saying anything else, the Uchiha walked straight to a confused Kisame and grabbed his hand before dragging him toward a corridor that led to the bedrooms, leaving the silver haired man alone.

'He is right.' The man thought as he stood up and began walking out of the Uchiha compound and determinedly toward his house, 'I should do that.'

On his way to his house, Kakashi met with Nagato, Konan and Deidara.

"Hello Kakashi! How are you?" the rinnegan holder asked with a friendly smile.

"I'm very well, thank you. Listen," the jonin began to say, not entirely focused on them, "I wouldn't go back to the Uchiha compound for a few hours if I were you."

"Oh no, they are at it again? Man I must know what type of cereals those two eat at breakfast un!" Deidara exclaimed with an astonished look on his face.

"Well if that's the case, could we come to your house?" Konan asked.

"Huh hum…I don't think it will be possible…" Kakashi replied, clearing his throat in an embarrassed manner.

"Why not?" Deidara asked naively before his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Don't tell me that…"

"See you around." The jonin quickly said and disappeared in a puff of smoke before the blond man could finish his sentence, leaving three bewildered ex Akatsuki members on the side walk.

Appearing in front of his house, Kakashi could hear the restless pacing his young lover who must have been waiting for him after he hadn't found him. Opening the front door, he was immediately assaulted by a mad blond.

"You bastard! Where were you? I searched for you everywhere!" the young man yelled at him angrily.

But before Naruto could say anything more, the jonin pulled him forcefully to him, flushed against his own body and kissed him hard, engaging him into a passionate kiss and ravishing his mouth with his own. When Kakashi pulled away from the kiss for some much-needed air, Naruto looked at him with a dazed look, his eyes clouded with lust, and breathing heavily as he licked his bruised red lips.

"I hum…I…What's my name?" the blond asked in a daze as he stared as if hypnotized at Kakashi.

Without answering, the silver haired man pulled the young man into another mind-blowing kiss before swooping him off his feet and carrying him in his arms into the bedroom, closing the door with his feet and not reopening it before the next day.

A few days later, Kakashi and Naruto were hanging out in their house with the Akatsuki group when Sakura came in, bursting inside their house huffing and puffing and her face looking all red from having ran. She looked both alarmed and excited at the same time.

"He...He is back! Sasuke is back!" she told the waiting crowd that had been looking at her in both surprise and curiosity, immediately telling them the news when she had enough breathe.

This news brought mixed feelings for a few people among the group. Of course Naruto and Kakashi were very happy to hear that the young man had returned but Naruto was a bit nervous at the idea of finally seeing the person he was considering his best friend once again. However, though he was happy, especially for the blond to have his friend back, Kakashi was not sure he liked this news.

Why was the young man coming back? Why now? It looked a bit suspicious... Especially with Itachi now back in the village. Could it be...that he has come back to kill Itachi? In that case it wouldn't do. Not only the older Uchiha of the two was innocent, but Naruto considered him like family. The blond was very attached to him and he would never let Sasuke even lay one finger on him. But the problem was, the young man was pregnant now. He can't put himself in danger without endangering the life of their child. And with the burning hatred that Sasuke held for his brother, there was a big chance he wouldn't care to hurt Naruto if he intervened, pregnant or not.

Talking about Itachi, the long dark haired man was sitting stiffly in his seat, having tensed as soon as the name of Sasuke had been pronounced, his face a cold emotionless mask, not letting slip on single emotion through. Kisame was looking at the Uchiha with worry, trying to see what the man was thinking right now while trying to comfort him to the best of his abilities.

As for the rest of the Akatsuki, they didn't know how to welcome this news and were just looking back and forth between Itachi and Kisame, and Naruto and Kakashi, watching their reaction. Suddenly, Naruto stood up and looked at Sakura with a look of determination.

"Where is he right now?" the young man asked the pink haired kunoichi.

"In Tsunade-sama's office." the young woman answered.

"Then let's go there." the blond said, starting to walk to the front door, the rest of the group quickly following him, Kakashi staying close to him.

When they arrived in front of the office's door, Naruto stopped and hesitated. Kakashi gently took his hand in his, making the blond look up at him and giving him a encouraging tender smile, showing him his support. Returning the smile slightly, the blond reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door. He was so nervous, he could feel his heart pounding madly in his chest, feeling like it would burst out of it from sheer nervousness, his only anchor that was giving a sense of calm and peace was the warm hand of his lover that was firmly clasped with his.

As he opened the door, the sight of four persons standing in front of Tsunade's office, with ANBUs looking at them carefully, two for each of them as well as two on each side of Tsunade as bodyguards. Their back had been facing him until they all turned around to look at the newcomers, the figure in the middle with short spiky dark hair being the last one to turn around. At this moment, midnight black eyes looked at sky blue ones. Naruto felt his heart leap at seeing his long lost friend, feeling so happy to see him again here in Konoha.

However, the look on the younger Uchiha's eyes was dark and slightly frightening, which made the blond squeeze the hand of Kakashi as if to seek courage though the physical contact with his lover.

"Hey Sasuke." the young man said with a tentative smile, adding in a uncomfortable chuckle, "Long time no see huh?"

"Indeed." the raven-haired young man replied, as he looked Naruto up and down, his eyes coming insistently on his rounded middle section.

"Oh that..." Naruto said as he noticed the stare of the other male on his stomach, saying with a soft smile as he rubbed his stomach in gentle circles, "Yeah, it's a rather long story. But as you see me, I'm 5 months pregnant."

Sasuke looked at Naruto silently for a few seconds longer, making everyone look at him warily as they felt a bit on edge around the young man. Then, a movement coming from Naruto's right attracted the young Uchiha, whose eyes instantly narrowed and you could clearly feel the sudden tension in the room. The cause of this tension was Itachi, who had decided to walk up to Naruto's side to look at his younger brother, and was now looking at him with his usual aloof mask.

"Hello Sasuke." the long dark haired man said in a cool voice, his face betraying no emotion.

Before anyone could react, Sasuke lunged himself at his brother, his sharingan activated and blazing with pure hatred. Seeing this, Naruto was about to go and put himself across Sasuke's way to stop him from getting to Itachi. But Kakashi, who had foreseen this type of foolish act from his lover, quickly put his arms around him and pulled back against his chest, away from any danger, while the other ex-members of the Akatsuki all went in front of Itachi to defend him against Sasuke, and stopping the latter from approaching him, glaring as if to dare him to approach.

As Sasuke was about to attack the group standing between him and the man he wanted to kill, the voice of Tsunade suddenly arose from the commotion, cutting through the tense air and cooling slightly people's mind like a cold bucket of water.

"Sasuke! Come back immediately to the place where you were standing and calm down or you will be put in prison without any hope to ever get out!" the female hokage threatened with a very stern gaze as she looked at the raven haired young man, before turning the three followers of the young Uchiha who had been about to go help their leader, "And you, if I see you one more time trying to help Sasuke in anyway other than helping him carrying a bag or something, I swear to Kami that you will never see the light of day ever again! Is that understood?"

The three persons nodded silently, looking a bit scared and wary of the temperamental woman about whom they had heard great and terrifying things. Sasuke didn't respond and just walked back slowly to his place, though he kept throwing daggers from now and then to Itachi and the Akatsuki.

"Good." the blonde woman said with a satisfied tone though she still looked sternly at the four people in front of her, while Naruto and the rest of the group had come nearer and were now on the sides of the room to listen and watch the unfolding of this conversation, "Before we get to why you are here, I want to get one thing straight between us."

At hearing this, everyone strained their ears, wondering what she was going to talk about, though most of them had an idea what it would be about.

"Itachi has been recognised innocent of the charges against him for the murder of your clan as it was an order from the elders and Danzo." Tsunade said, staring at Sasuke straight in the eyes, the latter scowling, "He is part of the village now. And those gentlemen who were part of the Akatsuki are also going to soon become officially part of this village. As such, if I see any of you trying to get into a fight with any of them, I will consider it as an act high treason. Are we clear?"

The four of them nodded, Sasuke letting out a 'hn' as a sign of understanding.

"Very well. Now, tell me exactly why you have decided to come back to the village, and who are these persons who are accompanying you." the female hokage demanded, looking intently at them.

Then Sasuke began to say his story, telling them he had regretted having gone to Orochimaru and that he had killed him a few months ago to free himself from his grasp. He then told them how he wanted make amends and just be once again part of the village.

As the young raven-haired man was telling his story and presenting the members of his group as Jugo, Karin and Suigetsu, Kakashi watched him silently, frowning internally. Though he sounded and looked as much repentent as an Uchiha could be, the silver haired man didn't believe him. It felt as if something was off to him. Something deep in his eyes felt wrong. Something in his voice seemed off. The jonin couldn't quite put his finger on it but there was one thing that was sure, he would watch the young man very closely.

As for the Akatsuki group, they were all looking at Sasuke and his group with an expression of mistrust in their eyes and on their face, all standing protectively around Itachi in case the young man decided to try anything again. The older two of the Uchihas was looking at his brother with a hint of suspicion and sadness shining in his eyes. There was one question on everyone's mind, except for Naruto, why had Sasuke decided to come back to Konoha?_  
_

_TBC_

**Here you go guys. So sorry that it is so short but I've been extremely busy and this is the best I could do for now. :S**

**I hope you liked it nonetheless. As you can see Naruto and Kakashi have a few issues about gender and names concerning their future child, ****Itachi has been cured (alleluia!),** and Sasuke is now back (though it's a wonder if it's a good thing or bad thing).

**What do you think will happen? Will Kakashi and Naruto have a boy or a girl? Will Sasuke reveal himself to be a good guy or a bad guy?  
**

**I would love to know what your idea on the question is. Of course I already know what is going to happen (sort of...you never know with this mind of mine lol) but I think it would be interesting to see what your thoughts are about this.  
**

**Keep the love coming! I just love reading your reviews and just see the support this fic is getting! :)  
**

**See ya next time!  
**


	33. Dilemna

**This chapter is a bit more focused on Sasuke.**

**Enjoy!**

It had now been a few days since Sasuke had come back to the village and everyone was on edge. It seemed as if Naruto was actually the only person believing in Sasuke's good faith, and that he had really come back to make amends and this time stay definitely in the village. Kakashi found it fishy that the dark haired youth had just decided to come back like this without any ulterior motive. After all, he had severed all his ties with Konoha almost four years ago, what exactly would push him to come back now? Moreover, who were those three persons that accompanied him? Were they friends or foes?

All those questions were also swirling in the ex Akatsuki members' mind, those latter having become extremely protective of Itachi. They were taking turns to guard him, having at least two people with him at all times, most of the time being Kisame and someone else. Though Sasuke had been briefed on what had exactly happened during the massacre of his clan, the group of ex rogue-nins had seen that the younger Uchiha had not believed it, too lost in hatred to believe anything coming from the mouth of the hokage who allowed his brother to live and go wherever he pleased. Though they didn't know him personally, they knew enough from what Itachi had told them, learning that the elder of the Uchiha brothers had planned to die from Sasuke's hand, and as such had made sure to cultivate Sasuke's hatred toward him so that he would make sure to achieve his revenge.

Of course they had no proof that Sasuke would do anything. From the exterior everything looked fine. The young Uchiha looked sincere and repentant. But with the whole history between the two Uchiha brothers as well as the fact that Sasuke had lived for three whole years with Orochimaru, who was a master in deceiving and betraying, they found it hard to believe he had come back because he felt homesick. Even Sakura looked to be suspicious of the dark haired young man, looking at him warily but with a clear hopeful glint in her eyes.

This general mistrust of people toward the young Uchiha and his group had created quite a few arguments between Naruto and the others, the blond getting angry at people for looking with suspicion at the person he considered his best friend. Kakashi and the Akatsuki had tried many times explaining to him how it looked very suspicious but the pregnant young man hadn't wanted to hear any of it. For him his friend had come back where he belonged and that was all that mattered. Sure he would have preferred if he hadn't gone to Orochimaru in the first place, but what was done was done and now he just wanted to catch up with long lost friend, and maybe try to have the same bond they had before he went away.

As for Sasuke himself, the youngest of the Uchiha brothers was right now walking out of the bathroom, after having taken a bath. He lived in an apartment that he had to share with Jugo, Karin and Suigetsu under Tsunade's order for the next 6 months with two ANBUs watching them. It had been the price they had to pay if they wanted to stay in Konoha as a proof of their good will and to see if they wouldn't do anything stupid.

Though he had wanted to tell that woman off and do whatever he wanted, the young man knew he had to play along with the rules for now. He was back in this miserable village for a reason and he needed to be patient before he could get what he wanted. He then remembered the day he had met Tobi.

This man was an enigma. A piece of a large puzzle he had a hard time understanding. Not that it mattered much to him. But this masked guy had the sharingan and pretended to be Madara. Those facts were enough to make the young Uchiha wary. Could that guy really be Madara? Why was Naruto so important for the plans he had? Sasuke then began to remember the discussion he had had with that masked man.

_Flashback_

Sasuke had just come back with Jugo, Suigetsu and Karin just as Tobi had asked him to bring them.

"Now tell me about how you intend to do this." The raven-haired young man demanded, referring to their deal and how to achieve them both.

"This is actually rather simple." Tobi said, ignoring the rude disrespectful tone of the young Uchiha, "As I already told you, I want you to help me steal both his and the baby's chakra as well as extracting the Kyubi. For that I will need you to infiltrate the village and on the day of Naruto Uzumaki's delivery, you will help me getting inside the village as well so that I can fulfill my goal."

"What will you do once you have done this?" the young Uchiha asked with narrowed eyes, scowling as he looked at the masked man warily.

"Why but create a peaceful world of course!" Tobi replied in a fake cheery voice that made Sasuke scowl at him even more, before becoming serious once again as he added in a chilling unemotional tone, "With the Kyubi as well as all this chakra from someone from both the Uzumaki and Senju clan and his offspring, I will finally be able to put my plan into action and conquer the world and make it a place with no war where everyone will listen to me."

"And what about my revenge on Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

"The village will be in an uproar when I approach Naruto Uzumaki so it will be rather easy for you to move around." The masked man said in calm cold voice before nodding toward Karin, Jugo, Suigetsu, "Plus this is why you have those three isn't it? They can keep Konoha's shinobis busy while you take Itachi apart and while I make sure to get what I came to take."

While the latter three protested loudly, well more Suigetsu and Karin than Jugo, swearing at the masked man to not take them for simple tools and that they had goals of their own, Sasuke looked silently at the ground with a contemplative expression on his face.

"So, do we have a deal?" Tobi asked, waiting patiently for the young Uchiha's answer as he ignored the rest of the young man's group.

After a moment, Sasuke raised his head to look at the masked man, his face devoid of any emotions on his face.

"When the time comes, I will send you a white snake. You better be at the entrance gate after you receive it." The raven haired young man said curtly before turning around on his heels and walking out of the place with the three others following him, leaving a smirking in victory masked man behind him.

_End of flashback _

After that the young Uchiha and his three followers had then begun to prepare for their journey to Konoha and Tobi had come to see and talk to them one more time before they left. And now here there were. Sasuke still didn't trust the masked man fully. Ever since he had gone to Orochimaru, he had learned not to trust anybody.

While toweling his hair dry, the sharingan holder walked into living room where the others were, the three of them apparently drinking tea. As he entered the room, they all turned to him looking at him expectantly.

"Oi Sasuke! Why are we here again?" Suigetsu was the first one to speak, his tone slightly annoyed, "Seriously we are treated like trash and we haven't even done anything to this village ye..aarrghh! You bitch! What was that for!"

Karin punched just him upside the head to shut him up, stopping the swordsman effectively from saying anything else.

"You moron! What makes you think you can talk like this to Sasuke-kun huh? You disgust me!" the red haired young woman replied as she sneered down at the water shinobi specialist.

"Karin, Suigetsu cut it out." Sasuke said in a stern voice as he poured himself some tea as well before sitting next to Jugo.

"What's next Sasuke?" Jugo asked in a low voice, his demeanor calm at the moment as he looked out through the window at the village.

"We just let life go by and wait for our turn to come." The Uchiha replied enigmatically though everyone apparently understood, as he threw a glance at outside the window where he knew the two ANBUs appointed to watch them were.

Suddenly, two voices could be heard getting nearer from the apartment of the group that called themselves Taka. Curious about whom it could be, the four persons strained their ears and tried to listen to the argument that was apparently going on.

"I don't think this is a good idea." The voice of Kakashi could be heard saying in a careful tone of voice.

"And I don't think I've asked your opinion." The blond replied, "You are the one who decided to follow me."

"That's because you need to have people watching over you with the condition you are in, you know that." The jonin told him in a weary sigh, "Naruto, we really shouldn't get involved in this. This is none of our business."

"Well I'll make it my business! These two idiots will never patch things up by themselves!" the pregnant young man said as he opened the door of the apartment, where group of shinobis under surveillance resided, "Oi Sasuke! I've come to pick you up."

Naruto then entered, with Kakashi following not far behind, the living room where the little group was, looking at them a little bewildered at the sudden entrance without really an explanation. Sasuke looked at the blond impassively for a minute before turning away from him, ignoring him completely. Fuming at being ignored like that with his right eye ticking in annoyance, the blond began to walk to the raven-haired young man to force him to come when Suigetsu put himself in his way.

"Okay listen closely water freak," Naruto began to say with narrowed eyes at the swordsman, looking quite scary for someone his size and in his condition, "I'm pregnant, and very hormonal. I have a bladder the size of a marble, which makes me go to the bathroom every twenty minutes, and I can assure you that you don't want to mess with me right now."

Slightly scared, Suigetsu moved away from the pregnant blonde's way, watching him with wide wary eyes as the young man walked up to Sasuke. Naruto looked down at the raven-haired man with his hands on his hips, a stern look on his face.

"Come on get up teme. I'm taking you somewhere." The blond said in a voice that accepted no refusal.

"If you think you can intimidate me into coming with you are sorely mistaking dobe." Sasuke replied, not even looking at the pregnant young man.

At hearing this, Naruto saw red. Nobody was going to ignore him

"_Kurama give me some of your chakra, I'm going to drag this stubborn bastard's butt out of this apartment." The blond said to the Nine Tailed beast, growling silently in annoyance toward the young Uchiha._

"_Sorry kit but I'm not giving you any of it under those circumstances." The demon fox replied, "I agree with your mate. This is none of your business you really shouldn't get involved in this."_

"_Look, you either help me or I might get hurt by trying to drag him bodily. Your choice." The young man threatened stubbornly._

"_Hmph fine." Kurama grumbled reluctantly, agreeing to give him its chakra._

Smirking slightly evilly, Naruto then began to summon Kurama's chakra and used it to grab onto Sasuke by the torso. He then proceeded to drag the struggling Uchiha out of the apartment, in front of the bewildered gaze of the other people in the room, Karin yelling at him for treating Sasuke in this manner. But the blond didn't care one bit about all this. He was going to take Sasuke to the Uchiha compound and make him talk with Itachi whether he liked it or not.

When they arrived in front of the compound, Sasuke began to try and resist harder against the inhuman force of the pregnant young man's chakra hand but in vain.

"Let me go Naruto!" the Uchiha yelled angrily as he struggled.

"Nuh huh! You are going to have a talk with your brother and listen to him whether you like it or not." Naruto replied stubbornly while opening the front door and walking down the hallway that led to the living room.

When they arrived into the living room, everyone of the Akatsuki group was there and looked at them surprised, their eyes widening slightly at the image of Naruto using Kurama's powers and dragging behind him a furious Sasuke.

"Hey Itachi!" Naruto greeted with a smile, "I've brought your little bro so that you could talk with him and explain things out."

Slightly taken aback, Itachi looked at the blond and his brother in confusion, seeming like he didn't really know what to do exactly. Then Nagato, Konan and Deidara stood up and began to leave before Nagato stopped for a moment and turned to Kisame who was still sitting next to Itachi.

"Kisame I think you should let them be alone. Kakashi-san is here in case there are any problems so don't worry." The rinnegan holder told the shark like man.

Hesitantly, the swordsman looked at Itachi who nodded at him before standing up as well and leaving the room along with the others. Naruto, Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi were now the only ones left in the room. Heaving a sigh, Itachi looked at Sasuke, whom was now glaring darkly at him from his spot next to Naruto, the latter watching him carefully so that he did not try anything. The tension between the two brothers was palpable. Kakashi was feeling rather nervous as he was afraid that it would come down to a fight between the two and he didn't want Naruto in the middle of it. Because even though Naruto had shown a great deal of resources, especially in his present pregnant state, the silver haired man didn't really feel comfortable having his lover between the two Uchiha brothers, Sasuke seeming especially rash and emotional when it came to his older brother.

"Alright guys lets sit down and have a heart to heart talk." Naruto said, pushing Sasuke forward, toward Itachi, the latter scowling at him resentfully though it didn't affect him as he scowled right back at him, which unsettled the raven-haired young man slightly as he was used to have people cower under his scowl.

They then all sat down on the ground, Itachi sitting in front of Sasuke while Naruto was sitting on the two brothers' side with Kakashi next to him, putting himself between him and the younger Uchiha. Once they were all sitting down, the pregnant blond looked at both of the Uchiha brothers.

" All right. Now you are going to talk to each other, and resolve any issues there might have between you two. Is that understood?" the young man said looking sternly at them both.

Silence settled between the men for a moment before Itachi let out another sigh and looked at Sasuke.

"I guess it would be good for me to begin by telling the whole story behind the massacre of our clan." The older of the two brothers said with a grave face and voice, the younger Uchiha's eyes and expression darkening at hearing this, not wanting to look at his older brother.

Itachi then began to tell the whole tale behind the massacre of their entire clan. He told the people in the room everything he had felt at that time, his impressions on the whole situation, becoming personal like he had never been before. Through the whole tale, Sasuke remained impassive, not letting one emotion slip out and not looking even once at his brother. When Itachi was done, a heavy silence hung the air. The long dark haired man looked exhausted but at the same time relieved, like a weight on his shoulders had been lifted as they slumped slightly. Naruto and Kakashi looked silently at the others, digesting slowly what they had just heard as surely was Sasuke. After a few minutes of total silence, where you could only hear the birds singing outside, Sasuke stood up with his head hung down and his dark bangs hiding his face. He then began to leave, ignoring Naruto's pleas to stay. Just before leaving the room, the younger Uchiha stopped.

"I'll never forgive you for letting me live." Sasuke said in a low voice, in which the others barely caught his words, before opening the door and roughly closing it behind him, leaving a saddened and guilty looking Itachi behind him.

For the next few days nobody heard anything from Sasuke, though they knew that he hadn't left the village as the ANBUs that were watching him had reported that he had come back to the apartment and had stayed in it unless he had to go out for a very important reason which hadn't been the case in quite a while.

Naruto was rather worried for the young man he considered his friend but he didn't regret either to have interfered, as he knew that the two brothers had needed to talk but he did wish that Sasuke hadn't been such a blockhead. He had seen Itachi's hurt and sad look and he felt bad for the older Uchiha as he knew that the latter really wanted to make things right with his little brother.

However now was not the time to dwell on those things as there was something really important happening today.

Today was Kakashi's birthday and the blond had organized a big party with all their friends to celebrate his lover's 30th birthday. The pregnant young man was very excited about it and had been working on this for the last two weeks, sending invitations, buying decorations and planning everything while trying to keep the silver haired man oblivious to it. But it had been rather impossible to keep it from the jonin, someone who had been once part of the ANBU, as the latter had quickly found the poorly hidden birthday decorations in one of the closets they weren't using. Though it had upset Naruto at first, he had quickly recovered and had decided that since Kakashi now knew he might as well not try to act subtly around him when organizing his birthday.

Ever since becoming pregnant, the young man hadn't had anything very exciting to do, as every time he wanted to something everyone around would discourage him to do it to not harm his baby. This was why he had been thrilled to organize this party, knowing that this was a safe activity that he could enjoy without having people constantly fussing over him. He knew he was in a delicate predicament but geez! He was not freaking disabled!

Although the blond was very enthusiastic, the same could not be said of Kakashi. The whole idea of a birthday party was bumming out the silver haired man, as that made the fact that he was turning 30 even more real. The thought of entering his third decade was something that quite frightened the jonin and he didn't feel ready at all to overcome this phase. Unfortunately for him, time wasn't going to stop for him and so he had to reluctantly accept that today was officially the day he was becoming 30 years old.

Right now Kakashi was sitting on the couch in his living room. Naruto was hustling and bustling around in the house to prepare everything with Konan and Itachi following him around and helping. Kisame and Inari were in the kitchen taking care of the meal, while the rest was in the garden putting up the tables and chairs along with the decorations. The silver haired was looking at everyone actively preparing everything with an expression between bored and annoyed. He had never asked for a party but his younger lover had decided to have one nonetheless, shutting him up effectively by glaring at him. Oh yeah, a pregnant Naruto was scary and the jonin had been right in thinking that the blond would be like Kushina.

If he had thought Kushina-san had been scary, she almost looked like a lamb compared to her pregnant son. Kakashi now respected even more his late shisho for having put up with the abuse that comes with being the partner of a pregnant person. He hadn't known even half of the stuff that pregnant people could pull off. A few times, the silver haired man had been woken up by his blond lover who had asked of him more or less impossible things going from a bowl of strawberry ice cream with lots of honey and chocolate sprinkles to a specialty that he had once tasted in Sunagakure, obviously wanting them in the next ten minutes. It had taken all the jonin's patience but also all his love not to snap at his pregnant lover and try to accede to his more or less crazy requests. He loved Naruto from the deepest of his soul but man could he be infuriating sometimes! It was a good thing he loved him or he would have done something stupid. But he also knew this was because of the hormones and this was why he indulged the young man into those crazy demands and tried to not upset him.

At this moment, the love of Kakashi's life decided to come see the jonin who was still brooding about turning 30.

"Hey there old man." Naruto said teasingly with a smirk as he sat down on the silver haired man's laps, the latter giving him a half-hearted glare, "What are you doing here brooding? It's your birthday you should be happy."

"I'm not exactly very thrilled about turning 30." Kakashi replied with a grimace.

"Why is that?" the blond asked curious.

"Because it is another decade and when you have arrived to this decade you are considered old and you should have accomplished things and your life should be fulfilled." The jonin replied gloomily.

"In what universe does 30 means the end of your life? You have barely lived a third of it." The pregnant young man said with a deadpanned look before taking on a more serious expression as he asked, "What more are you waiting out of life?"

"I don't know…something that would make my life feel fulfilled I guess." The silver haired man said in a mumble.

"And us having a baby isn't part of this fulfillment?" Naruto asked rhetorically, not angry yet but sounding like he was getting there, "We are going to become a family. Hell! We already are a family! What more would you want?"

At this moment, Kakashi realized just completely stupid and superficial his fears were. Why was he freaking out for something as stupid as turning 30 when he had a great lover with whom he was soon going to be a father? Though it wasn't all roses and sunshine all the time, it was a life that was worth living. He loved Naruto like crazy and they were surrounded by friends who were ready to help them and weren't going to let them down. What more could he ask of life? With an apologetic smile, the jonin put his arms around his pregnant lover's waist, pulling him as close as possible with the swollen belly where their child was against his own stomach.

"You are right. I'm sorry." Kakashi said, nuzzling apologetically his blond lover behind the ear.

"You better be. I would never forgive you if you forgot that you had me and our future child." Naruto told him with a pout as he put his arms around his older lover's neck, before adding with a mischievous smirk, "And don't worry, I know that men after a certain age encounter a few problems and are more fragile, so we will be more careful when we are in bed. After all we wouldn't want you to break a hip."

"This is quite an impertinent statement you got there." The jonin half-growled as he grabbed is lover's hips, his voice thick with lust and domination, "I guess I'll have to erase this cheekiness off your face and prove you that I'm still fully capable to make you scream."

At hearing this Naruto's eyes clouded with lust as he looked at the silver haired man, wetting his lips hungrily as he began to lean down to kiss the jonin. But suddenly, as they were about to kiss, they both felt a kick, one in his stomach and the other against his. At feeling their child kick the two men looked at each other with a smile. It was like their child was trying to remind them of its presence. With a chuckle, they felt two other kicks before their child settled down. After that they hugged each other exchanged a long kiss, feeling like their life was perfect right now.

"Hey guys! Can you stop being all lovey dovey please? We have a birthday party about to start with you Kakashi as the center of attention!" Inari suddenly said, startling them further before they flushed deeply and untangled themselves from each other.

"Come on let's join everyone in the garden and enjoy your birthday party." Naruto said as he stood up, lending his hand to Kakashi to help him get up as well, and pull him toward the plate glass window that led to the garden.

"Alright but this is because you insist on having a party." Kakashi replied grumbling as he reluctantly followed his young lover out.

"Yeah, yeah mister grumpy. Come on let's go." The blond said with a nonchalant smile as he kept pulling his lover outside.

Everyone enjoyed themselves and partied well into the wee hours, laughing, dancing, eating and drinking. Kakashi even surprised himself by enjoying it as well, spending time with his friends and his lover. The only person missing at the party was Sasuke, not having answered Naruto's invitation. Though it didn't really matter to Kakashi or anyone else, but Naruto did feel a bit disappointed that the younger of the two Uchiha hadn't come. He knew that the encounter between him and Itachi must have been quite a shock. He just hoped that the young man wouldn't let himself fall into darkness again because of all this.

A few days later, Naruto and Kakashi went to the hospital to see Tsunade, as today was the day they were going to know the sex of their baby. They had waited anxiously for this moment where the matter on the gender of their future child was going to finally be settled. Of course no matter the gender they would love it and cherish it, but it was still a matter of pride to know who had been right all along.

"Alright gentlemen, ready to see if it's a boy or a girl?" Tsunade asked as she arrived into the consultation room where Kakashi and Naruto were, the latter sitting on the examination table.

The two men nodded apprehensively, a lump in their throat as the truth was about to be finally revealed. After Naruto lied on the table and pulled up his top, the blonde medic-nin spread some gel on the blonde's swollen stomach and then began the ultrasound scanning. After a moment they saw their baby, appeared on the screen. Of course they already had had ultrasounds before, but seeing how their baby was changing so much in just a matter of weeks was always quite an amazing moment for them. The female hokage seemed to search a few minutes before finally stopping with an uncontrolled gasp, before chuckling as she looked at the two men.

"Congratulations. You are having a healthy little girl AND a healthy little boy." Tsunade said with a wide grin and a cheery tone of voice, sounding like she was having fun announcing the news.

Flabbergasted, Kakashi and Naruto looked at the female hokage, who was enjoying their shocked expression, not believing what she had just said.

"We are having twins?" Kakashi asked in a low voice, feeling speechless.

"Yep! It's quite a shock huh?" the blonde medic-nin said excitedly, almost jumping from one feet to another with a wide grin still on her face, "Not only are you learning the gender of your child but you also learn that you are having twins!"

"A boy and a girl. As in, two babies? H-how!" Naruto exclaimed, sounding like he was freaking out.

"Well since it's only around the fifth month that babies are building their own chakra core. Today was actually one of the first day we could see whether there was more than one little baby inside you." The female hokage told him giddily, looking like she was having way too much fun out of this situation.

"Naruto everything is going to be alright. There is nothing to be stressed about." The jonin tried to sooth his lover, rubbing his back gently.

"You can talk! You don't have TWO babies growing inside of you!" the blond replied loudly in total freak out mode, "I'm the one who is going to have to pop them out of me in four months!"

"Oh stop being such a drama queen!" Tsunade said with a roll of her eyes.

"Having an old drunkard like you helping me deliver is not what I would call comforting." the young man mumbled under his breathe.

"What did you just say?" Tsunade asked dangerously in a glare.

Feeling an incoming argument in the air, Kakashi quickly began to push his younger lover out the room and away from the fuming hokage.

"Thank you for your time hokage-sama." the jonin quickly said with a respectful bow toward the blonde medic-nin before leaving the room.

'As soon as he is not pregnant anymore I'm going to make his life a living hell.' Tsunade growled internally as she glared at the spot where the two men had been, before getting a wicked smile on her face, 'Maybe I can make him go through a "special training" to prepare him to become hokage.'

With that evil thought in mind, the female hokage headed back to her office. Serving herself some sake, she began daydreaming about the dreadful face that the brat was going to make when she announced to him the training he would have to endure, as a punishment to have behaved the way he did during his pregnancy.

Meanwhile, the giddy couple went back to their house, where everyone was waiting for them as they knew that today was the day they would know the gender. As soon as Naruto and Kakashi stepped into the house, they were assaulted by Konan, Inari, Sakura and Deidara, who began loudly interrogating them about how the consultation went. After having managed to calm them down, the two men announced the news.

"Twins!" both Inari and Sakura exclaimed in a squeal, making the others who had been patiently waiting for them in the living room stand up and come see what the ruckus was all about.

"What's going on?" Nagato asked curiously as he watched Sakura, Inari and Konan jump up and down excitedly while Deidara just looked gobsmacked.

"They are having twins!" Konan told him excitedly, making Nagato as well as the others' eyes widen in surprise.

"Seriously?" Kisame asked in awe to Kakashi as he turned to the couple, Kakashi glowing with excitement while Naruto just gave a timid smile in front of all the excitement of their friends, apparently not knowing yet how he felt exactly about it.

"A boy and a girl." Kakashi said with a smile, as he held his lover with one arm around his waist as if to give him support and reassure him.

"Wow... Looks like everybody is a winner on this one." Deidara commented, making everybody laugh.

"Well congratulations to the both of you." Iyashi said, stepping up to go shake Kakashi's hand and warmly tap Naruto's back.

"Yeah, congrats! I know you are going to be great parents!" Inari felicitated them, roughly smacking poor Kakashi's back in a congratulatory manner before taking Naruto into a hug while making sure to not crush him and be gentle.

One by one, everybody congratulated them, slowly making Naruto get out of his stupor about having twins. He then realized. Why was he freaking out so much? He had great friends and an awesome lover. He had all the support he needed in the world. Everything was going to be fine. The blond knew that everyone would be here for him. They wouldn't let him down, they would be there for him when he needed them.

They then all went to the living room and had a toast to celebrate the news, most of them drinking sake while the rest, including obviously Naruto, drank something else. They then decided to take this celebration to a restaurant, wanting to go eat something.

On their way to the main street where the majority of the restaurants were, they met Sasuke and his friends, an awkward silence settling down on them as both group looked at each other like they didn't know what to do or what to say. Naruto was the only one who actually smiled and walked up to the raven-haired young man.

"Hey Sasuke what's up!" The blond said, stopping right in front of the younger Uchiha, "Me and Kakashi just learned that we were going to have twins and we are all going to the restaurant to celebrate, you and your friends wanna come?"

Sasuke seemed to actually consider it and looked at the group that stood right behind Naruto, the latters all looking rather uncomfortable and slightly cautious. They were wary of him, not that the young man could blame them. If anything, in a way he wanted to congratulate them for not trusting him instantly unlike that usuratonkachi of Naruto. The only two persons who actually didn't look at him the same way than the others were Itachi and Kakashi. His older brother was looking at him with a hopeful gaze, his eyes shining with the want to make amends and be closer to him. As for Kakashi, the jonin was actually staring at him with a somewhat thoughtful, pondering expression, as if he was trying to come to terms with something in his minds though the younger Uchiha had no idea what it could be.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Sasuke said after having glanced one more time at the group that was looking at him and his 'friends' intently, "It might spoil the mood."

Confused, Naruto followed the young Uchiha's gaze and looked behind his shoulder at his group of friends, who had quickly averted their gaze to avoid looking into the blonde's eyes. Frowning at the group in annoyance before refocusing on the raven-haired young man.

"Well they'll have to get used to it." The pregnant young man replied sounding a bit irritated before adding with a stern look but also a determined smirk at Sasuke, "Moreover, this is the perfect chance to prove this bunch of idiots that you are not so bad."

Once again, the young Uchiha seemed to consider Naruto's words. Then, after much internal deliberation and slight reluctance, the raven-haired young man finally accepted to follow Naruto and celebrate with all of them the good news of Kakashi and the blond having twins.

The rest of the night went smoothly. They went to a teppanyaki restaurant and reserved a whole part of the restaurant for themselves with three tables to accommodate everyone, as others arrived as well after hearing the good news. Kakashi had sent a message to all their other friends to tell them the news and invite them to come celebrate with them at he restaurant.

Sasuke even surprised himself by having fun and slightly warming up to people, especially Naruto with whom he became rather comfortable and began to fall back into their usual banters. The blond was ecstatic to have his friend back and that things were beginning to feel like they had been before the young Uchiha had left.

Meanwhile Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo seemed to have fun as well. Though Karin seemed to still be swooning around Sasuke every chance she got, she did also talk with some people such as Ino, Tenten or even Iyashi. Suigetsu was having the time of his life by drinking, bantering and having arm wrestling matches with Kisame, Deidara, Kiba, Lee and Inari. Jugo was talking peacefully with Nagato, Konan, Neji and Sakura about diverse subjects. Other people such as Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino were happy to sometimes talk to other people but also to just watch everyone interact. Naruto talked mainly to Sasuke but would also interact with others, while Kakashi would basically almost always stay by his lover's side though he would sometimes indulge into talking with someone.

The silver haired man watched his young lover glowing with happiness as he was talking and joking with all their friends and bonding back with Sasuke. The jonin had had his doubts about the young Uchiha and his new friends. But with time he began to slowly let his guard down and trust the raven-haired young man. Sure there were still a few dark sides about him but Kakashi felt like he could give him a chance. If it was not for him it had to at least be for Naruto's sake, as he knew that getting along and giving a chance to Sasuke meant a lot to the blond.

This is why, at this moment, the silver haired man got up and walked up to the raven-haired young man who was sipping on his drink a few chairs away from him and Naruto. He then sat down next to him, asking a waitress that was passing by to bring him a beer before turning to the young Uchiha who was now looking at him with an eyebrow raised in curious inquisition. Not knowing how to start this conversation with his former student, the jonin decided to just say the first thing that went through his mind.

"It seems like you've managed to get along with a few people here tonight." Kakashi commented awkwardly, hitting himself mentally for blurting such a stupid comment while Sasuke just stared at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

"And it seems like a too long exposure to Naruto has turned you into a more social and mellow person." The young Uchiha countered in his detached manner, though you could see that the awkwardness of his ex sensei was amusing him a bit.

The jonin let out a chuckle at hearing this, liking that the raven-haired young man had some repartee in him even after all this time.

"Touché." The silver haired man said with a smirk before looking at Sasuke with a more serious expression, "You know you mean a lot to Naruto right?"

"Hn I know." Sasuke grunted, looking between annoyed and actually touched, "This dobe doesn't know how to quit and just leave people alone."

"This is because he is loyal and friendship means a lot to him." Kakashi replied with a stern look, "If it wasn't for his will to never give up and the help of a few friends, we might never have ended up together. But because he is like this, he didn't give up on me even though I had turned him down."

"Hn." The young Uchiha said in a grunt, not wanting to respond anything to that.

"Listen Sasuke, Naruto trusts you, and believes in you." the jonin began to say in a sigh, looking determinedly at the raven-haired young man, "As such, I've decided that I would follow him and trust you as well. I had my doubts when you came back, especially with the whole situation with Itachi. But I have to say that I am actually very proud of the way you handled things. Even if you are still avoiding your brother but that's none of my business. What I'm trying to say is that I give you my trust. Just don't hurt Naruto anymore please. I know that he can be a bit too overwhelming but he means well."

After Kakashi's long speech Sasuke stayed silent for a bit, just staring at the silver haired man without saying anything.

"You don't have to worry about it Kakashi. I have come back and I don't intend to go away again. " Sasuke told him after a moment, adding with a slight smirk, "Plus having this usuratonkachi running after me again and trying to beat me up to take me back to the village would be a drag."

"That's for sure." Kakashi said with a smirk of his own, "Especially since he would kick your butt."

The two men continued to talk a bit, neither of them much of a talker but wanting to catch up with each other.

Not far away from them was Naruto who was watching them with a smile, happy that Kakashi had made a step towards the young Uchiha, as he knew that the teme was still too proud and as unsociable as ever to make that step. Suddenly he felt a presence on his right and turned to see that it was Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi smiled at him before taking a seat next to him and glancing toward where Kakashi and Sasuke were.

"They seem to hit it off." the young woman commented as she looked at the two men.

"I'm glad they do. I was afraid that Kakashi wasn't going to give Sasuke a chance." Naruto said with a small smile.

"Well it would have been for good reasons." Sakura replied, earning a confused stare from the blond, rolling her eyes as she told him, "Oh come on Naruto! Sasuke had abandoned the village just to become stronger with Orochimaru so that he could kill Itachi. Apart from you, everybody else is a bit reluctant to give him a chance. He looks changed and somewhat very dangerous. Plus we have no idea what his intentions are."

"He said he has come back because he realized the mistake he had made by going to Orochimaru." The pregnant young man said with a frown, not understanding how it was so hard to believe.

"Forget it. This conversation is a dead end as I know that neither of us will step down from our positions so we might as well avoid talking about this." The pink haired kunoichi said with a sigh, before asking, "So, are you excited about getting twins?"

"I guess yeah." Naruto said with a small smile, rubbing gently his stomach as he felt a kick from one of the twins, adding with a sheepish chuckle while scratching the back of his head, "Though I kind of freaked out at first when hearing that I was having two beings growing inside my stomach and that I would have to give birth to them. I mean can you imagine? There are going to be two babies coming out of me in less than 4 months!"

"Well first of all they are not going to come out at the same time baka." Sakura replied with an amused roll of her eyes, before smiling gently at his friend and putting a hand on his shoulder, her smile widening into a full grin as she told him, "And don't worry about giving birth to them. You are going to be well surrounded as I'm going to be there to assist Tsunade into helping you deliver the babies."

At hearing this, Naruto's eyes bulged out comically, his face becoming pale.

"You are going to be one of my nurse while I'm in labor?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yeah!" the pink haired kunoichi exclaimed happily before frowning and looking at the blond with a suspicious expression, "Why? Is that a problem?"

Then the pregnant young man's face turned a bright shade of red and began stuttering.

"B-but you are going to see me naked!" Naruto protested embarrassedly, squirming on his chair and acting a bit prude as if he was already naked in front of her.

"Well to be fair I will only see the lower part of your body." The young woman replied with an amused smirk, sighing exasperatedly when she saw her friend's face turn even redder if that was possible, "Oh come on you big baby! I'm a nurse. I'm a professional."

"Maybe he has something he is shy about." Sai intervened, having listened to their conversation, not knowing that it was rude to eavesdrop on people, "Maybe he has a tiny penis."

By this time, Naruto's face was so red that it wouldn't have been surprising if smoke had come out of his ears, or if you could have cooked an egg on his face. Turning toward Sakura, the poor blonde's jaw dropped at seeing the young woman trying to refrain from laughing, feeling like he could die from embarrassment he turned to angrily toward Sai.

"T-that's not it you bastard! It's just embarrassing to have your friend seeing you naked that's all! And I'll let you know that I'm very well proportioned down there!" Naruto exclaimed, realizing too late that he had yelled it and so that everyone had heard what he had just said.

Feeling utterly embarrassed and his face as red as the reddest tomato, the pregnant young man hid his face in his crossed arms on the table, while a lot of people in the room exploded into laughter. Not missing such an opportunity, Kisame, Deidara and Inari went up to the blond and began to tease to no end about this, the others watching from afar in amusement.

As everyone was teasing the pregnant young man, Kakashi tried to comfort his lover as best as he could given the circumstances, and the fact that he was himself trying to keep his laughter in as he didn't want to sleep on the couch tonight. Sasuke watched at the scene in wonderment, feeling disturbed by the funny feeling he could feel in the pit of his stomach. His face didn't let out anything as usual, but his heart was in a real turmoil. Feeling the desire to be with them and laughing as well while he also felt like he was far away from them, like this wish was unattainable.

Suddenly the image the orange masked man that called himself Madara appeared in his mind. The young Uchiha then stood up and walked out of the restaurant, leaving behind him Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo, and gazed upon the stars while thinking that Naruto's due date was slowly approaching and what it meant.

_TBC_

**I'm sorry for the long wait but my life has been a mess lately, I have had, and still have, a few problems, and I have not been feeling well. Right now the only place where I can find a bit of comfort is in writing but even that I don't have much time to do it.**

**Anyway, I have an announcement to make. I have both the pleasure and sadness to tell you that this story is coming to an end. **

**Pleasure: because it always feels good to know that you have accomplished something (though it might be a big word as it is not like something extremely important either) and that you have been able to finish something that you have been working on.**

**Sadness: Well obviously because it's the end and I'm sad to see it end as I had so much fun with it. But as the saying goes: all good things have an end.**

**There should be no more than 2-3 chapters left and I hope you are looking forward to see them.**

**See you next chapter!**

**PS: Just in case FFnet decides to take out this story or my account, I have put this story in LJ as well. My username is **_**crazydumplings**_** and from now on every story I post here will also be put there.**


	34. The End But Also The Beginning

**Hey guys. Okay I think you can officially clobber me to death. I am so so so sorry that it took so long for this next chapter to come. My life hasn't calmed down one bit since last time, in fact it got even worse.**

**Anyway, let's get on with the chapter and once again sorry that you had to wait so long for this one.**

**Enjoy!**

"The vitals are all good, everything is in order." Tsunade said as she retracted her medical chakra and took her hands off Naruto's now very pregnant stomach.

"When is it going to be for?" Naruto asked as he pulled his T-shirt back down, referring to the delivery date.

"Well it all depends of them. They could be coming now at any moment." She replied with a shrug.

"Urgh great." The blond groaned with a sarcastic voice, "So if I understand, though I'm already late, I have to wait that they decide to come? Come on! I'm nine months and a week pregnant and I look like a damn balloon! How much more time will I have to wait!?"

"Calm down, I'm sure you won't have to wait much longer." Kakashi told his lover, trying to sooth him by rubbing gentle circles on his back.

"Easy for you to say! You are not the one who has to carry those two demons that found nothing else more entertaining to do, than to kick me in the stomach and the ribs every two to three minutes!" the young man lashed out at him, obviously on edge, very hormonal and emotional at this moment.

"I know it's been hard for you but it is the last straight line. Then we will have two beautiful babies that we can take care of together." The silver haired man said, ignoring the aggressive tone of Naruto as he knew that he was on edge right now.

"Hmph you better." The blond grumbled as he took the jonin's hand in his before getting hugged by the latter.

"If in two weeks time you still haven't gone into labor, we will trigger it." Tsunade told him, "In the meantime, if you feel the first contractions, send me a message and come straight to the hospital."

"Okay." Both Naruto and Kakashi said with a nod.

They then bid goodbye to the female hokage and left for their little house. Once inside, they sat down on the couch, Naruto using Kakashi as his own personal pillow while the latter caressed his soft blond hair softly while he kept him close to him.

"I hope they are going to come out soon." The young man murmured with his face half buried into the other man's chest.

"I'm sure they will." The silver haired man replied in a confident and soothing tone as he started to slightly give a massage to his fatigued young lover, "And I'm sure they are as excited as we are to soon meet them."

A few days later, the Akatsuki gang had come to the cottage to come see how Naruto was doing and to have drinks together.

"Hiya Scarecrow-san!" Deidara greeted with a grin as Kakashi opened the door, "Can we come in?"

"Sure, I'll go tell Naruto that you've arrived." The jonin said as he stepped aside to let the gang come in, before closing the door and walking to the feet of the stairs, calling Naruto, "Naruto. Everyone has arrived."

"I'm not coming down." was the reply of the blond, which startled slightly his older lover before the latter sighed.

"Come on love. They have come to see you." Kakashi tried to reason him.

"No! I look like a whale!" the young man replied, his voice coming out from the bedroom.

"Come on Naruto! We've brought double chocolate ice cream!" Konan suddenly said, having walked up next to Kakashi.

It was silent for a moment until the creak of a door opening slowly upstairs made itself known. Then the blond head of Naruto appeared out of the doorway, looking like a curious little wild animal.

"The one with the milk and white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts in it?" he asked in a small hopeful voice, his eyes shining at the idea of one of his top ten favorite desserts.

"Yes. So come on down and let's have some of it." Deidara told him with a soft smile, gently incenting the pregnant young man to come down.

"All right." The blond finally agreed after a moment of pondering, dragging his heavy figure out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Once he arrived downstairs, Naruto went to the living room where everyone else was and slumped down with a groan on the couch next to Kisame and Itachi.

"How are you kiddo?" Kisame with a small friendly smile as he ruffled the blonde's hair.

"I am sore everywhere and I'm so big now that I can't put my shoes or even my pants by myself anymore." The blond replied grumpily.

Nobody knew what to say at this and decided to wisely stay silent.

"And all this because those two brats are too comfortable inside or too lazy to get out of me already!" he added while glaring at his swollen belly before suddenly yelling at it like it could do anything, making the others jump in surprise at the sudden outburst, "Get out, get out, get out!"

"Be patient baby, they will come out soon." Kakashi said, coming in the room with a bowl of ice cream for everyone, a special big one for his young lover.

"Oh don't you 'baby' me! You are the one who put me into this predicament!" Naruto told him, pointing his finger at him accusingly while glaring at him.

"You know there are ways to start the labor." Nagato commented, trying to be helpful.

"Like what?" the blond asked with a frown as he looked at his cousin.

"Well I hum… huh I…" the red haired man stuttered not knowing what to say exactly at what, not having thought of giving examples.

"Well there is exercise, acupuncture, eating bitter tasting or hot spicy food." Konan intervened by proposing when she saw that Nagato couldn't manage to say anything.

"Exercise huh?" Naruto repeated with a pensive expression as he turned to look at Kakashi, raising his eyebrow in a meaningful manner.

"What?" the silver haired man said not understanding why his young lover was looking at him like this, before it slowly dawned it on him, "Oh no no no. I know that look. Don't even think about it Naruto."

"Well she did say that exercise would help." The blond shrugged, looking at him innocently and giving him the big doe eyes.

Kakashi's face heated up and he didn't dare look at the others, though he could hear most of them snicker.

"Naruto. In a few days, if you still haven't gone into labor, Tsunade will trigger it. You need to be patient." The jonin told his pregnant lover, trying to keep a distance with him, as he didn't want the blond to manage to get his hands on him.

"Oh come on! I'm sick of being pregnant! The least you could do after what you have done already would be to help me go into labor!" Naruto whined as he stood up and then began to walk up to his older lover while swaying his hips sexily, acting all seductive.

"Naruto," Kakashi said in warning backing up, "I know you are desperate but this is not the solution…"

"Come on Kashi-baby," the pregnant young man purred with a sultry look as he walked slowly to Kakashi, like a predator was stalking his prey, "It has been a while hasn't it? Don't you miss it? Don't you want it? Come on let's do it and have some fwaaouuch!"

But, as Naruto was getting nearer from the silver haired man, he suddenly doubled over in pain, his hands clutched over his abdomen. Alarmed, the jonin rushed over to his younger lover's side.

"What's wrong? Is there something going on with the twins?" Kakashi asked worriedly, putting a hand on his back.

The young man then whispered something intelligible that no one managed to catch.

"I'm sorry could you repeat? I didn't hear what you said." The silver haired man said hesitantly as he got his ear closer from the blond.

"THE BABIES ARE COMING!" Naruto screamed before letting a loud moan of pain.

At hearing this news, everyone began to freak out and didn't know what to do. The house became very loud as everyone was trying to be helpful but just burdened each other while the blond was moaning in pain at each contraction, freaking them out even more. The only one who was even remotely calm was Konan.

"Alright, alright enough all of you!" she told them in a loud and authoritative voice, making all of them stop and look at her, "Now let's be organized. Kakashi you take Naruto to the hospital. Deidara, Kisame and Itachi, you go find all their friends and tell them that Naruto is in labor. Nagato and I will pack Naruto's things for the hospital. Now go!"

After this, everyone began to move and obey to the orders of the blue haired kunoichi. Kakashi quickly scooped up Naruto in his arms and took him to the hospital. Deidara, Kisame and Itachi then left, each going their separate way to inform everyone very fast.

Just a few moments later in the apartment of Sasuke and his group, the gang was hanging out in the living room. Sasuke was reading a scroll, Suigetsu training with his sword and Jugo talking with some birds. Suddenly, Karin arrived in the room looking alert and serious.

"Sasuke, Deidara just came and said that Naruto had just gone into labor." The red haired kunoichi told them gravely.

Everyone looked up at the young woman at hearing this news, becoming serious all of a sudden. They each stood up and then turned to Sasuke who looked deeply concentrated on something.

"So it's finally time huh?" Jugo said as he looked at the young Uchiha.

Sasuke slowly nodded his head.

"Let's all get ready." The dark haired young man told them, before summoning a black snake to which he gave a rapidly written message before sending it to Tobi, who was waiting at the village's door.

Once he was done, the young Uchiha turned back to the rest of his group, who were now all packed and ready, waiting for his orders.

"Let's do as we talked about." He told them, his face an unemotional mask, "You go make sure to let Tobi inside the village and help him in case of obstacles. I will join and help you later as soon as I am done with what I have to do."

With that said they scattered and left to do what they had to do.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Naruto was walking back and forth in his hospital room while holding his swollen stomach but also his back.

"Ow ow ow! Why do they keep hurting me like that? I thought having a baby was a blessing but I don't really see it right now!" the still pregnant blond complained as he clutched at his stomach, while Kakashi was looking at him from a seat in the room, feeling a bit useless in front of his lover's pain and predicament.

"I know it's difficult love but you need to be brave. Tsunade-sama is soon going to come and give you something for the pain." The silver haired man told him.

Right after the jonin had said this, the blonde medic-nin entered the room.

"About time!" Naruto exclaimed impatiently, relief shining in his eyes, "When will we start getting those demons out of me?!"

"When your body is ready to do so you impertinent brat!" the female hokage replied, "I'm actually here to check this."

After a quick check up, she looked at him with a smirk.

"Well you are in luck. It seems your body is ready to start the delivery. So I'm going to give you some painkillers to ease the process." She declared with a wink before going to the door and stopping a moment to add one thing before leaving, "I'll send two nurses to give you the painkillers and bring you to the labor room when we have finished setting it up."

"Finally!" he sighed in relief, going to sit on the edge of the bed.

Kakashi went to sit next to him and began to rub his back soothingly to try and ease the tension in shoulders and muscles.

"You'll see. Everything is going to be just fine." He told his young lover, kissing him lovingly on the temple, "I'll be here with you during the whole thing."

"Thank you." Naruto murmured warmly as he pressed his body against the older man's side, taking as much comfort from the touch as he could, "Thank you for being so patient and for everything you have done to make it easier on me despite the fact that I did everything to make it hard on you."

"No problem love." The silver haired man replied softly, kissing once again his blond but this time on the top of the head, before adding in a light joking tone, "After all this is what partners are for."

The young man chuckled at this and snuggled closer to his lover while waiting for the nurses, enduring the contractions while waiting.

Just at this moment, a shadow jumped as furtively as it could from roofs to roofs with in mind the hospital as the final destination, and more specifically a certain delivery room where his future was. But, unfortunately for this person and the three others that were following him as well, a group of people appeared in front of him and blocked the way.

There, facing Tobi and Sasuke's team, were Jiraiya, Yamato, Guy, the Akatsuki gang as well as all of Naruto and Kakashi's other friends, well set on defending their friends and protecting them. All of Kakashi and Naruto's friends were there, but there was also a lot of shinobis of the village who were there as well for the sake of their village but also for the sake of an important member of said village.

"My, my! We have a rather important welcoming crowd right there." Tobi commented, sounding more amused than anything, looking totally unconcerned by the fact that they were clearly outnumbered, "Let me guess, there is also the ANBU guarding the hospital and the delivery room."

"I don't know exactly who you are Tobi. But there is no chance that we are going to let you even lay a hand on Naruto or his children." Jiraiya told him with narrowed eyes before quickly summoning Gamabunta while the others took on an aggressive pose.

"We'll see about that." The masked man replied, as Zetsu appeared out from the earth and took an aggressive stance as well next to him.

"You'll never get to Naruto! We will never let you hurt our friend!" Kiba yelled to the small group, Akamaru growling threateningly next to him while all the others nodded and acclaimed the dog specialist shinobi's statement.

"Yeah! Naruto is a very dear member of our village and one day he will become the hokage!" Lee said, pumping his fist in the air.

"If you want to get to Naruto, you'll have to get through all of us first." Sakura added, cracking her knuckles intimidatingly.

A huge clamor from the whole assembly of shinobis erupted, people such as Kisame, Deidara, Lee and Kiba making as much noise as they could with a cry of war.

"Humph! You fools. You will all die." Tobi said in an unimpressed tone of voice.

With that said, the battle between Tobi, Zetsu, Sasuke's team and the people of Konoha began, each fighting ferociously against the other. One side fighting to get to Naruto while the other side was doing everything it could to stop from doing so.

_Meanwhile in the delivery room…_

"You are doing very well Naruto." Tsunade said, encouraging the blond, "Push a bit harder and I should soon be able to pull out the first one."

"Nggh I swear they better be worth it! I'm not going through that again!" the blond exclaimed as he gritted his teeth and concentrated to push even harder, his hands clutching the armrests of the labor table until the knuckles turned white.

"That's it! The head is out now I can pull it out." The blonde medic-nin exclaimed with a smile as she pulled the first baby completely out.

Soon, a cry could be heard from the baby as it took its first breathe into the outside world, its tiny lungs slightly burning at the new sensation.

"It's a boy!" the nurse said with a smile as she showed the slightly whimpering baby that was now cleaned and wrapped up in a blanket to Naruto, who smiled at him.

"Hello Haku." He whispered, reaching with his fingers to slightly caress the cheek of his son, this tiny being that was all red and looked so fragile all wrapped up.

But before he could do anything else, his baby boy was taken away. As he was about to protest, Tsunade interrupted him.

"Naruto I know you want to hold your son in your arms but you first need to bring your daughter into this world as well." She reminded him gently, "If you want, Kakashi can stand beside you with Haku in his arms."

"Y-yeah okay." The young man agreed, refocusing on the task at hand.

Kakashi then took his son from the nurse and went to stand next to his lover, holding his hand in his free one while the other held the baby securely.

"All right. We will do the same thing that we did for the first one okay?" Tsunade said, receiving a quick nod from Naruto, "Are you ready? Okay then push!"

Gritting his teeth, Naruto pushed and pushed, trying to finish this as quickly as possible. But it seemed his daughter was not so keen on coming yet and he had a hard time pushing her out.

"Nggh oh for the love Kami! There is only your child to make me have hard time like this and be so lazy to come out!" the blond exclaimed exasperated, talking to Kakashi as he slumped tiredly back on the work bed.

This remark earned a laugh from Tsunade while Kakashi chuckled while giving a sheepish smile.

"It will be over soon love. Hang on for just a little longer." The silver haired man told him, gently wiping the sweat of his forehead.

"Am tired." Naruto mumbled in an exhausted complaint as he closed his eyes briefly.

"I know. And trust me, as soon as our daughter is out, you will be able to rest all you want. But right now I need you to stay strong a bit more." The jonin said, encouraging in a soft tone his young exhausted lover.

"All right I'm seeing the head. This is it Naruto. I need you to push one last time with all your might okay?" Tsunade suddenly said giving a winning and encouraging smile to the young man.

With resolution shining in his eyes, Naruto propped himself up on his elbows and frowned in concentration before he pushed with all he had one more time. Once the cry of his daughter pierced the air, the exhausted young man slumped back against the bed, a shin of sweat covering his forehead. With slightly drowsy eyes, as he was fighting to stay awake, he watched the nurse clean and wrap his daughter into a blanket as well.

Once she was done, she brought her to her parents, who were waiting eagerly to see and hold her. This time it was Naruto who took the baby in his arms, cradling carefully his daughter into his arms. Then the young man gasped when he felt his daughter's chakra probing his own as if to assess who he was. Though she had been crying up until now, she immediately stopped once she recognized Naruto's chakra signature.

"She's so tiny." Naruto whispered in awe as he took one of the tiny little hands of his daughter.

"She's beautiful." Kakashi said in a warm emotional voice, kissing lovingly his lover while still holding Haku in his arm, slightly rocking him.

"So what are you naming her?" Tsunade asked as she approached the new happy parents.

Both men looked at each other for a moment and then smiled before turning their head back to the female hokage.

"Arame." They both said at the same time, saying it like they were just one person with a big broad smile and their face glowing with happiness.

After that, Naruto was moved to a private bedroom along with the twins in a crib next to his bed.

"You were great back there love. I'm proud of you." Kakashi told his blond lover, kissing him sweetly on the forehead while petting his blond hair, which were slightly soaked in sweat on the sides, "You make me the happiest man in the world. I love you"

"I love you too." The young man replied with a tired smile before looking at the sleeping twins, his children.

Slowly, Naruto's eyes then closed and he almost immediately fell asleep, snuggling into the covers as he took a well-deserved night of sleep and rest after all this.

The silver haired man watched over him and their two children for a while, having a hard time realizing that he was now officially a father. Those nine months had gone by like a blur. There had been good times and bad times, but in the end it was all worth it. They now had two beautiful children that they could raise and love. Naruto had given him those two children and for that he loved him even more.

Suddenly, he heard someone knock on the door slightly. Standing up, he went to see who it was and recognized the leader of the jonin division, Shikaku. Glancing back into the room for a second to see his lover and his children deeply asleep, the jonin stepped outside of the room and closed the door behind him. He then faced once again the older man, waiting to hear what he had to tell him.

"As you asked me to do, I'm coming to tell you that the battle against Tobi has started." The scarred man told him, "Tsunade-sama has already joined in."

"Thank you, Shikaku. I'll prepare myself and head back with you to the battlefield." The jonin said, turning around and reaching for the doorknob, as he was about to open the door.

"There's something you should know before we go." Shikaku quickly added, stopping the silver haired man in his track, "Along with Tobi and this Zetsu guy, there is Sasuke's team."

"Sasuke is helping Tobi?" Kakashi asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Sasuke hasn't been seen on the battlefield, only his teammates." The jonin leader told him.

"Well, in either case I think we better hurry. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can go back to Naruto's side." The silver haired man said opening the door grabbing a bag he had prepared for the occasion.

The two men then quickly left the hospital, heading for the place where the big battle was. Kakashi hadn't told Naruto any of this. His lover had already too much going on. He just knew that if he had told him what he was going to do, the young man would have worried and would have wanted to go with him. He was like that. Always wanting to help people and deal with things by himself. But now it was time that he was the one to be helped and taken care of.

Right now, all he wanted Naruto to do was rest from just giving birth to their twins while he took care of keeping him and their children safe.

_Back at the battlefield…_

Kunais were flying in the air, and injuries were given. Blood was spilled and battle cries were yelled. Though they were technically more than the other side, Konoha was having a hard time against Tobi and the others. Two shinobis had fallen and some others were severely injured. Right now Jiraiya, Nagato, Itachi and Tsunade were battling against Tobi with all they had.

The masked man was proving to be a very powerful and difficult opponent. And if that wasn't enough, he had resurrected into a physical form the four Bijuus that he had managed to catch thanks to the Akatsuki, controlling them with his sharingan.

The moral of Konoha's shinobis wasn't in very good shape. Though they had managed to seal one of those Bijuus into a special seal jar, there were still three of them free and ravaging around them. Yamato and Guy had taken on the role of each leading a group, one taking care of Sasuke's team while the other was fighting off the Bijjus, trying desperately to stop them from going any further into the village.

The houses and apartments around had been evacuated to prevent any civil casualties, and camps had been set up inside the Hokage Mountain as a shelter for the villagers.

Soon Kakashi and Shikaku finally arrived to the battlefield, going straight to Jiraiya and Tsunade's group.

"Ah finally! What took you so long Kakashi!" the female hokage exclaimed as she saw the silver haired man coming next to her.

"Well I figured I would clean myself up a bit and try to look nice before meeting you all." The jonin replied without missing a beat, trying to sound nonchalant and relaxed while he felt nothing like that.

"Tch! Cocky brat." She grumbled slightly annoyed by the man's impertinent tone.

"Kakashi Hatake." Tobi suddenly said, making Kakashi look at him with a wary expression on his face, "If you are here then that must mean that our dear Naruto Uzumaki must have given birth to his child."

"Children." The jonin corrected him.

"What did you say?" the masked man asked, not having heard correctly.

"I said children. We had twins." The silver haired man repeated, his face not betraying any emotions as he announced that.

"Well, well. I guess congratulations are in order." The sharingan man said, his voice as cold as ever, not even one emotion sounding through his voice as if he wasn't even focused on this discussion.

"You will not be able to approach Naruto or the twins Tobi. We will all make sure of that." Itachi intervened, making the masked man turn his head toward him.

"Is that so? You really think you can stop me Itachi?" Tobi said with a snort.

"Yes and you know why?" the long dark haired man replied.

"Enlighten me." The masked man said in a sarcastic drawl.

"Because you are alone. You have no one you can trust. You rule everyone by fear and this is what will be your downfall." The Uchiha told him with a grave voice, looking at him solemnly.

"And that's where you are wrong." Tobi replied in a calm cold voice, "Fear is the one of the most powerful feelings on earth. It can make people do crazy things and listen to the least reliable person if it meant saving their little skin. Fear is power. If people are afraid of you, you control them. It is as simple as that."

"Maybe but you are forgetting that there is one feeling that is stronger than fear." Jiraiya intervened making the masked man look at him.

"And what would that be?" he asked, sounding a little bit curious.

"Love." Kakashi said, making Tobi turn to look at him, "People can do the craziest things out of love. They can be paralyzed by fear but still find the strength to move out of love. It is the strongest feeling that exists. Love overcomes all obstacles."

"Hn! This is the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. I'm rather disappointed in you Kakashi Hatake. I thought you were more intelligent." The masked man said with a hint of disappointment in his voice but sounding mostly bored, "All right, enough chit chat. Let's finish this so that I can finally fulfill my plans. I would like to extract the Kyubi while its dear jinchuriki is still weak."

With this said, Tobi began to do a quick series of hand signs. The earth then began to shake before six soldiers made of dirt appeared out of the ground, holding katana and wearing what seemed to be samurai armors.

"Kakashi, let me, Tsunade and Shikaku deal with those dirt dolls, and attack Tobi with Nagato and Itachi at the same time. Only sharingans and the rinnegan can fight on par with this man." Jiraiya told the jonin with a grave face, frowning slightly in concentration as he watched Tobi hide behind those dolls, "It is only by joining your powers together that we will have a chance to defeat him."

"Understood." The silver haired man replied with a curt nod, totally focused on the masked man.

"Let's do this Kakashi-san." Nagato said with a serious look, readying himself for battle, while Itachi grunted his approval, his sharingan blazing with determination.

The three men then charged at the masked man. Jiraiya, Shikaku and Tsunade backed them up, attacking the dirt soldiers so that they could avoid them and go past them toward the masked man. The fight against Tobi then started as Kakashi tried to hit him with a Raikiri. The masked man avoided it easily and stepped on the side just to see that Itachi had been waiting for him there. A close hand combat then ensued between the two men but got quickly interrupted as Kakashi and Nagato went to support the long dark haired man, seeing as it was preferable to step back a bit from the others.

The masked man looked at the three men standing in front of him, studying them, and trying to find a weak spot that he could use. He tried to find a plan on how to defeat those three annoying men that were putting themselves in his way.

Then suddenly Nagato charged at him while summoning a rhino. But Tobi jumped in the air and pulled out a kunai that he infused with his own chakra to make it more deadly and threw it at the summoned beast, which disappeared in a puff of smoke after having been hit. Almost instantly after that, Kakashi tried to attack from behind but got caught. The masked man caught his arm firmly in his and made him spin before sending him to slam hard against the ground, a cloud of dirt rising as his body hit the ground. The silver haired man's body made a crater underneath itself under the force of the impact.

"Kakashi!" Itachi exclaimed as he heard and watched the jonin grunt at the hit his body was suffering from, as he lost consciousness and lied on the ground unmoving.

Nagato and Itachi doubled their efforts to bring down Tobi, the masked man looking almost more relaxed now that one of them was down. The fight continued on, the two remaining men standing fought the other with all they had, trying to ambush him in some way and get the masked man down.

Then suddenly, as Tobi was just landing back on the ground after he had jumped to avoid another attack from Nagato, a hand shot up from the ground and firmly grabbed onto his ankle. Startled, the masked man looked down at the ground to see that Kakashi was the one holding his ankle.

"What?! That's impossible! You were lying unconscious over there!" he exclaimed angry as he looked at where the 'unconscious figure' of Kakashi was just to see it disappear in a puff of smoke, revealing a hole that the jonin had obviously dug with his own hands.

"Itachi, Nagato, it's our chance! Finish him! Now!" the silver haired man yelled so that the two others could hear him.

Instantly, the two men went into action and charged as fast as they could on the masked man. Before he had the chance to react properly, a couple of chakra rods as well as a katana pierced his body, hitting his vital points with accuracy. As Itachi and Nagato stabbed him from side to side, you could see blood running down from under his mask to his chest as he was coughing up blood. One of his lungs had been pierced and he was now slowly dying from the multiple critical wounds he had gotten.

At seeing Tobi getting killed, Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu halted for a moment, not knowing what to do now that the man they were supposed to help achieve his goal had just been defeated. Taking advantage of this moment of hesitation, Yamato's group quickly managed to catch them and tie them up. Though it took more time as they were very difficult opponents, the Bijuus as well were soon dealt with and sealed away in special jars where tags were put to ensure they would stay inside them.

Once all of this was done, a big clamor erupted from Konoha's shinobis, who celebrated their victory and the annihilation of the threat that Tobi represented. As for Kakashi, the silver haired man walked up to where Tobi was lying, dying slowly from the blood loss but also from the blood that was filling up his lungs. When he arrived next to him, he looked down at the dying masked man.

"W-why… How did you manage to fool me like this?" the man wheezed as he coughed up some more blood.

"I have to give credit to Naruto for this." Kakashi said in a low voice as he looked at the other, "He was the first one to have come up with this kind of trick. I just combined it with my own skills and that's what caused your downfall."

Tobi sounded like he tried to chuckle, but he just ended up coughing as more blood got in his way.

"So I've been brought down by the technique of some weak brat huh? What a dishonor." The masked man said in a derisive tone.

"Naruto is anything but weak. You might think he is. But what you are missing is the fact that this once rejected kid, whom everyone was wary of, has managed to change the life of a lot of people." The jonin replied calmly, "This once hated boy is now loved and admired by everyone. You might think that he is just weak physically and mentally but he is in fact the strongest of us all."

Tobi didn't say anything to that. Instead, the man just inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling, having just one last breath before he passed away.

After the masked man gave his final breathe, his corpse was carried to the hospital so that a team of medic-nin leaded by Shizune would examine his body and try to learn things from it. As for Sasuke's team, Jugo, Suigetsu and Karin were put in prison. Sasuke was never found and none of his 'teammates' who had been interrogated knew where he was. It was like he had vanished from the village and the surface of earth in general. The ANBU guards who had been watching over Sasuke and his team had been found unconscious but surprisingly not hurt in any way. This fact had both surprised and confused everyone, as they didn't understand what had been on Sasuke's mind.

However, it all became clear when two days later they found the elders dead in their office, bathing in a pool of their own blood, their face twisted with what can only be described as terror. This scene had been gruesome and just a few shinobis, after seeing the scene, had managed not to throw up. A letter addressed mainly to Naruto and Itachi had been left on the elders' desk. When Itachi found it, he waited to go see Naruto to read it. Naruto had just come back home with the twins after two days at the hospital. They sat down on the couch, opened the letter and began to read it with the utmost concentration. What was written on it brought small tears into both of the men's eyes.

_Nii-san, Naruto,_

_I know that you must be disappointed in me for having done what I have just done. But I'm not sorry in any way about this. In fact, I'm glad I finally got my revenge on those who were the cause of the Uchiha clan's destruction and everything I held dear. I made those lowlife slimy geezers pay and that's all that matters to me._

_I sent Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo to go help Tobi and pretended that I would go help them after I was done with what I have to do. But the thing is, I never intended to go help them after having killed the elders. You can think that it is cruel to have let them fend for themselves after we had been a team for the last year or so together. But I have never seen them as comrades, merely as people with whom I could work. They were just pawns to help me achieve my goal and I don't feel bad about it at all. However, I have just one request to address to you. Please don't be too hard on Jugo as he followed me because I was the only one who could tame his murdering instincts because of the cursed seal he has. There are some very good medic-nins in this village. Maybe you can find a way for him to not have them anymore. _

_When I came back to the village, for the first few days, I was focused on getting my revenge against the whole village for having accepted Itachi back. But then you told me all about what went on during the massacre of our clan. _

_From this moment on, I only resented the people who forced you, Itachi, to make this awful choice and had ruined your life. Though Danzo was already dead, the elders were still alive and so I began to plan a way to get my revenge on them. I realized that the most opportune time was when Tobi would be sneaking into the village, as it would wreak havoc and everyone would be focused on him. I knew you could defend yourself and I had faith that you would be able to stop him from getting to Naruto._

_Itachi, though I still resent you slightly for having let me live, you are my big brother and I will always love you. You are a great man and I admire you a lot. Thank you for being my brother._

_Naruto, I'm sorry for having made you suffer. You are the best friend someone could ever have and you deserve better than a friend like me. Thank you for being my best friend._

_I know that for my actions I might be tracked down but I don't care. I am glad to have done what I have done. The only thing I wanted to do was write this letter to you to explain why I did what I did. _

_Now the only thing left to do is to say goodbye. I know you might never forgive me my actions, but I want you to know that I love you both and that I feel lucky for having had two people like you in my life._

_Thank you for everything._

_Sasuke _

Soon everyone in Naruto and Itachi's circle had heard about this letter and its content, flabbergasted by what they learned. Naruto as well as Itachi were very sad that Sasuke had just left like that and that they would never see him again. But they also understood that it was just impossible for him now to come back after what he had done.

A few days went by and the reconstruction of the village was going well. The encounter with Tobi, and the Tailed beasts he had unleashed on them had done a lot of damage to the village and a lot of houses needed to be repaired or built all over again. Everyone was working hand in hand in the reconstruction of it with good spirits.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Naruto were enjoying the experience of being parents for the first time with their two little babies. Though they had had a few sleepless nights because of the little devils waking them up in the middle of the night, having the twins in their life had been nothing but fun.

Though they were technically twins, the two newborns were rather different in their behavior. Haku was the calm and quiet one, while Arame was the loud and fussy one. They would never cry at the same time and one would get hungry after the other had been fed. The two men were actually glad for that as that meant that they could alternate and take care of them one at a time.

Thanks to Kakashi experience at taking care of a baby, the silver haired man helped Naruto into taking care of the twins. He taught him how to change a diaper and making them burp after having fed them.

Right now Kakashi and Naruto were laying in their bed, the older man spooning his young lover as they slept. Suddenly, a whimper made itself known before it turned into cries, which woke the two men almost instantly. Their mind still muddled and semi-hazed with sleep, the two men groaned and Naruto turned around until his face nuzzled the other man's chest.

"It's your turn to go." The blond told his older lover in a sleepy voice, which was muffled as he had his face hidden in the jonin's muscled chest.

"Nuh huh it's your turn. I did it last night." The sleepy silver haired man replied in a childishly grumpy voice.

"Hmph! Fine." The young man said with a pout, groaning in protest as he started to get up, getting on his still half-asleep legs and walking wobbly to the little nursery room that they had done for the twins.

When he arrived into the nursery, he saw Arame crying while Haku was awake and quiet, waiting patiently for one of their daddies to come.

"Hey there fussy baby girl. Why such big tears huh? Are you hungry?" the blond cooed at his daughter, who was now just whimpering as she saw her father looking at her over the crib.

Picking Arame up to try and sooth her a bit by swinging her gently from left to right in his arms, Naruto then went to the little table counter with a sink and a cupboard, with everything that they needed in it, inside the room. Kakashi had been the one to propose that they do that as that meant that they wouldn't have to go to the kitchen and would just have to prepare the milk baby bottles right in the room.

After having finished preparing both milk bottles, the young man began to feed his hungry little girl. She suckled on the feeding bottle hungrily, finishing her meal a bit too fast, which made her have hiccups. He then made her lay on his shoulder and tapped her back until he heard the burp that meant that she was finished.

As soon as he had put her back into the crib, Arame was fast asleep once again. Naruto then turned to Haku who was looking at him.

"What about you? Are you hungry as well?" he asked in a cooing voice as he tickled his baby boy's tummy, which earned him as a response to have the little newborn spit a few bubbles.

A few hours later, it was now the afternoon and Naruto and Kakashi were sitting comfortably in the living room on the couch, each with a twin in their arms. Naruto had Arame, as she was daddy's little girl and didn't like when she wasn't in his arms, while Kakashi was holding Haku, the latter sleeping peacefully in his father's arms. They were just enjoying each other as well as the peace and quiet when someone knocked at the door. The jonin went to open the door, Haku still in one arm, and discovered that it was Iruka standing on the front porch.

"Hello Kakashi-san." The academy teacher said with a bow, "May I come in?"

"Only if you drop the suffix." The silver haired man replied after recovering from his small surprise, explaining his words at the confused expression on the chocolate haired man, "After all, we are like family as I am with Naruto."

"Alright it's a deal." The chunin agreed, shaking the free hand of the jonin with a smile.

Kakashi then let the other man enter and they walked into the living room where Naruto looked up from the couch to see who it was. When he saw Iruka, the blond squealed in excitement and got up to go greet the man he considered a father figure.

"Iruka-nii!" he exclaimed happily, giving the man a one armed hug as he made sure not to squeeze his daughter between them, "What are you doing here?!"

"Well I've come to see you of course!" the man replied with a warm smile before looking down at Arame, whom had been woken up by her daddy's loud voice, "And to meet those beautiful niece and nephew of mine. Hello there! How are you? You are so cute. Yes you are!"

Arame looked for a moment with big eyes at the man cooing at her before cooing back and giggling slightly. After that the three men went to sit and had some tea while they talked. After a while, Iruka decided it was time for him to go home and got up to leave. Kakashi was the one to see him to the door while Naruto took care of the twins who were now sleeping.

As Iruka was about to walk through the door, the chunin turned around and looked at the jonin with a serious and stern expression.

"Kakashi, there is something I would like to tell you before I leave." The chocolate haired man said, as he looked the silver haired man straight in the eyes.

"Yes?" Kakashi replied curious.

"If you ever hurt Naruto and my niece and nephew, I will hunt you down, and rip you apart in such tiny pieces that not even Kami himself would be able to put them all back together." The scarred man told him in a threateningly somber voice that gave chills to the other man, before his face split up into a bright smile as if nothing had happened, "Have a good evening."

As he watched Iruka walk away with wide eyes, the silver haired thought about how this man could very well become a jonin with such a scary attitude.

A few days later, everyone was at Naruto and Kakashi's house, eating, drinking and having fun. The Akatsuki group was there, as well as Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sakura, Sai and all the other friends of Naruto and Kakashi. The center of attention of this party was the twins, who were happily being cooed and babbled at by everyone present. This entire crowd had just fallen in love with the two babies, who were receiving a lot of attention and were spoiled rotten. Presents kept being given to Naruto and Kakashi for the twins, who had now at least a year supply of diapers, clothes and a dozen of pacifiers, teddy bears and toys.

"Oh they are so adorable Naruto! And they have grown so much since the last time we saw them!" Konan gushed, as she was happily holding and bouncing Haku in her arms, while Arame was still in her daddy's arms.

"Yeah, I actually can't believe that you two are the fathers." Deidara commented with a smirk as he teased Naruto and Kakashi who looked at him with a slight glare, before extending his arms toward Arame as he wanted to take her into his arms, cooing at the baby, "Hey there little princess! You wanna come into uncle Dei's arms?"

But as soon as the little newborn felt she was being shifted and held by someone else, Arame began crying and twisting her little body as if wanting to be back into her daddy's arms. Deidara pulled back with a sad and hurt look while Naruto laughed, which made the other blond glare at him.

"I'm sorry Dei but she is a bit unnerved by the number of people there is today so she doesn't want to be out of my arms. Even Kakashi can't hold her because she starts crying as soon as she feels she is not held by me." Naruto explained, trying to repress a victory grin in front of the put out one-eyed Akatsuki, swinging softly his baby girl in his arm to calm her down once again.

"Hahaha! So Blondie got rejected huh? Hahaha! That's precious!" Kisame barked out in laughter, Deidara walking away sulkily.

"Can I hold him?" Sakura asked with a hopeful tone of voice, as she walked up to Konan who gave her Haku reluctantly as she had wanted to hold him a bit longer, holding him carefully into her arms.

Everyone wanted to hold them. Even Nagato and Itachi, who didn't show their feelings very easily, just melted at the sight of the twins and did the most silly things just to get a smile from them. Kisame, though he had a rather scary appearance, had been so thrilled when the twins hadn't cried when he had held them and had even cooed at him. The shark like man was actually the one acting the silliest with the twins who just loved it. He seemed to be Arame's favorite as the little girl just loved being in his arms and watching him doing grimaces.

The party went on for a little while, everyone having fun and talking to each other. The twins kept being held, tickled, and played with as they giggled happily at so much attention.

Soon, people began to leave until there was no one but Kakashi, Naruto and the twins in the house. They two men then decided to feed them and change them before putting them to bed. Once the twins were sleeping peacefully, their stomach full and a new fresh diaper on, Naruto and Kakashi went back down into the living room. They sat down on the couch, Naruto snuggling up to the other as he rested his head against the hard chest, listening to the calm heartbeat of his lover.

"Well, that was an intense day." Kakashi said after a few minutes of silence where they just enjoyed the calm and presence of each other, beginning to massage the scalp of his blond lover.

Naruto hummed in agreement, closing his eyes in bliss as he was receiving a massage.

"Taking care of a baby is much harder than I thought." The young commented.

"Especially with twins, it's twice the work." The jonin added with a light chuckle.

"Yeah…" the other said with a smile, his eyes still closed as he burrowed further into his lover's body, "But at the same time, I wouldn't trade this life for any other."

"Me either." The silver haired man said, kissing his temple sweetly.

Turning his head to face his older lover, Naruto looked at Kakashi intensely for a few seconds before leaning up in a silent demand. More than happy to oblige, the latter leaned down and captured his lips in a soft loving kiss. They kissed each other slowly and languidly for a moment before pulling away from each other, and once again snuggling up against one another.

"You know, taking care of the twins reminds me a bit of when I was taking care of you when you were a baby." Kakashi said caressing absentmindedly Naruto's back as the young man was using his whole body as his own personal hugging pillow, "At first I was just so scared of doing something wrong and not being able to raise you. But, with the help of Inari-san, I got more confident. Then, you were taken away from me and I felt like I had failed in my promise to your father, as it was my duty to protect you. However, as time went by, you grew up and became such a wonderful, handsome human being. I began to see you less as a duty and more like the person you were becoming. I began to fall in love with you and you soon were occupying my every thought."

"I still have a hard time believing in everything that happened to us. Now we are together and you gave me two beautiful children. I don't think I could be any happier." The silver haired man added, tightening his arms around the blonde's figure, kissing the top of his head softly, "I love you my angel."

"I love you too Kashi." Naruto replied, looking up at his older lover with a huge smile before diving for another kiss, this with more passion fueled in it.

They kissed like that for a few minutes, losing themselves into the other without restraint. They knew that more hardships would appear in their lives but they didn't care. Whatever happened they had each other and that's all that mattered. They could face anything as long as they were together. And now that they had children, the feeling was even stronger as they had to protect them from any harm.

They would always do everything they could to protect their family, and friends and they also had wonderful friends and allies by their side to help them. Moreover, they were of the two strongest shinobis that lived in this world, the ones who would dare try to break their peaceful life and try to harm any member of their family would regret it deeply.

Naruto was actually training with Tsunade to be the next hokage while Kakashi took care of their kids and would go on missions when his young lover would be back home or when one of their dozens of potential babysitters was available.

Life was good right now and they enjoyed every single moment of it. The love they had for each other and their kids was strong and nothing would break it. However bad things are they would continue to love and support each other. That's what it meant being in love and together.

_The End_

**I hope you liked this ending. I really had a hard time thinking up of a cool way to end this chapter and I went with a sweet emotional sequence. ^^ So I hope it wasn't too cheesy for your taste and that you liked it. **

**Thank you to all of you for reviewing and especially to those who've been reviewing each chapter faithfully, I really appreciate the support. You guys have been great! :)  
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**As you can see, I've put '**_**The End**_**' but there will actually be an epilogue coming hopefully in the next two weeks.**

**I'm really sad that it's finished but at the same time I'm thinking that I will have more time for other projects. After a year and a half of writing this story it has become like a part of me in a way. I do will miss writing about this cute couple. :-3**

**Once again to all the people who've put this story into their communities, alerts and/or favorites, and who have reviewed it. :D I hope to see you on maybe some other stories of mine.**

**Love ya all!**


	35. Fifteen Years Later

**Hey guys! This is the last time that I am posting for this story. I know that some of you pleaded for me to just put it on hiatus and wait a year before starting it again, but I feel like it wouldn't do. I prefer to focus on other projects instead of desperately clinging to this story which I think has reached most of its potential.**

**You guys have been great. Thank you so much for all the support you have given to me and this story. I can't believe that this wonderful adventure with my two little dearies, Kakashi and Naruto, has been going on for a year and nine months. And here we are: 35 chapters, 293 followers, 262 favorites and 294 reviews later (almost 300 that's awesome! :D).  
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**I'm going to miss writing this story but I have so many other projects running in my mind, whether they are fanfictions or original writings (Yep, my dream is to be able to be published and live as an author! :D) I need to move on. But most of all, I will miss all of you and your wonderful reviews. You helped me progress and for that I am thankful.  
**

**Anyway, enough of emotional blabbering and let's get this epilogue started!  
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**Enjoy! ;-)  
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Naruto was sitting at his desk filling in some paperwork that he had to have finished to do for the end of the day. Exhaling loudly in a bored manner, the blond man looked outside through the window for a moment. Letting his mind wonder for a bit before he had to focus once again on the monstrous stack of paper, he thought about everything that happened to him and Kakashi in those last few years.

It had now been 15 years since the twins had been born and their life had changed a lot since that time. For the first five years after having defeated Tobi, Naruto had trained under Tsunade's tutelage to become the next hokage. It had been an intense and very exhausting training. But the blond had been happy to do it as it had prepared him to what his life as Konoha's hok age would be, though he highly suspected the blonde woman to enjoy watching him suffer and struggle with the training, and Kurama supposed encouragement didn't help either.

While the Kyubi jinchuriki was struggling with training himself to be the next hokage, Kakashi was with their kids or on missions. The village still needed to accept missions from people even though they were rebuilding themselves and this was exactly what he was doing: helping his village.

During Tobi's autopsy, which Kakashi and Guy assisted to, they discovered that Tobi was none other than Obito Uchiha, the silver haired man's fallen best friend. Kakashi and Guy had been the ones to identify him as such. Shocked by this discovery, the jonin hadn't wanted to admit at first that it was his former best friend that was lying on the autopsy table at first. But after some talking and convincing from both Guy and Tsunade, the silver haired man had to recognize that the facts were the facts and that the dead man in front of him was none other than Obito.

After having searched the dead man's clothes, a letter was found in an inside pocket. It wasn't addressed to anyone in particular but from what they deciphered, they understood that the man had prepared this letter in case he died. It was a letter full with hatred and mistrust for this world that he considered to be rotten and corrupted to its very core. Never once it talked about things or people he might like or love in this world. This was the letter of a bitter man who had lost himself in hatred and resented everything and everyone. And Kakashi had to admit that it was not the same cheerful and positive Obito he had once known. It pained him to admit it but his former best friend had lost himself at some point in his life.

How he had survived was still a mystery and they would probably never know. But the silver haired man decided to not let it bother him. The Obito he had cherished and would always remember was dead a long time ago and this man lying on the autopsy table was a complete stranger to him. He would not let himself be swallowed in despair and self-questioning about something he might never understand when he had a family that he loved and that needed him.

A few years later Naruto finally finished his training and became the sixth hokage, Tsunade retiring and declaring him publically his successor. The beginnings had been hard for the blond man as he had now to prove himself toward the other shinobi nations. But after a while, he had become used to his new duties and could manage to do everything he had to do without any mistakes.

He actually had started forming alliance treaties with most of the shinobis nations. He had even created an alliance of all the remaining jinchurikis in the world, gathering them and organizing meetings with them so that they could talk with people who understood them. But it was not only so that they could feel less alone, but so that they learned how to bond with their Bijuus and work together so that they could become a force unknown before. It was also so that they could be there in case of trouble and to help other nations in case of trouble.

Naruto had come a long way and was working hard to make this world a better world where everyone would manage to work together and get along.

When his lover was proclaimed the new hokage of Konoha, Kakashi decided to go work for the ANBU once again so that he could be able the one to protect Naruto and be close to him. Due to his past experience in the ANBU and the fact that he was right now one of the most skilled and powerful shinobis of the village, the silver haired man was appointed to the post of ANBU captain.

As for their children, Arame and Haku had grown considerably during those last 15 years. Arame had grown to be a beautiful young woman with long silky silver blonde hair, stunning blue eyes and alabaster skin. Though she had almost the same the hair and the skin complexion as Kakashi, the young woman's character was nothing like her father's and was more like Naruto's, which was extrovert and very social.

Haku was almost the complete opposite. His skin was slightly more tan that his twin sister's. His hair was short, spiky and had a very Uzumaki bright red color. He had big doe like dark eyes with long eyelashes. He had a very calm and composed personality, much like his father. Contrary to his dad and twin sister, he liked to be alone and was very solitary in general. He would rather read a good book than go outside and was a very peaceful person.

While Arame had graduated 4 years ago from the Academy, as she had wanted to become the greatest kunoichi that ever lived, Haku didn't aspire to such things. As such, he had never joined the Academy and had decided instead to raise animals and run a pet shop. Naruto and Kakashi supported both their children in their choices, not making any judgment on what they wanted to do and just looking after them and giving them advice when they could. Right now, Haku was an apprentice in the pet shop of the village. Due to the great work he was doing at the shop and with the animals, the shop owner, who was a very old man, had decided that he would give him the shop once he decided to retire.

Of course there had been a few trials that both Naruto and Kakashi had to face alone and together. But they had always come out of them stronger and wiser. Whether it was proving his worth not only in front of the village but also in front of the other shinobi nations, facing a difficult opponent or taking care of their growing kids, they had always succeeded.

More than once, the two men had thought their relationship was not going to last much longer, as they had moments of doubt and depression where they relationship was affected by it. They knew it wasn't over and that there would be more trials to come with more doubts and more fights between each other. But they would face and go through it like they did every time.

As Naruto thought that, he was suddenly brought back to reality when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Recognizing immediately who the person was, a small smile appeared on his face.

"What is it Kakashi?" he asked not even turning around to look at the ANBU masked man standing there.

"As perceptive as ever I see." The silver haired man commented with a smirk as he took off his mask while walking around so that he could face the other man.

"I wouldn't be the hokage if I couldn't sense someone who's just behind me." The blond replied, as he looked up from his paperwork to the older man, adding with a smirk of his own, "Moreover, it's not like you are trying to be quiet either when coming."

"True." Kakashi admitted with a smile, sitting on the chair at the desk that was facing Naruto, "I guess I don't feel the need to be careful when I come into your office."

"And thank Kami for that!" Naruto said with a teasing roll of his eyes and a dramatic sigh, standing up and walking around his desk to go sit on the edge of the desk to be closer to the other as he looked straight into his eyes, "Can you imagine if after all this time that we have been together you were still not entirely comfortable around me?"

"I feel like I would get scolded for it." The silver haired man commented with an amused smirk.

"Damn right you would be!" the male hokage replied, giving the older man a playful kick with his feet, having a smile of his own on his face.

Their eyes suddenly locked as they looked at each other and the mood began to change, becoming heavier and more intimate.

"Hey, I was thinking." Naruto said, his pupils getting dilated as he looked hotly at his lover, "It's been a while since we've been alone hasn't it?"

"Yeah." Kakashi answered in a breath, himself looking at the younger man with a fire in his eyes.

Today was a day special as it was the day everyone celebrated the defeat of 'Tobi' and the beginning of the peaceful era. It was the 15th anniversary of the time of peace that was still going on. For this occasion, the security of the village was reduced to a minimum and everyone celebrated by having a meal with the people dear to them. This was in this spirit that Naruto had ordered his personal guard to take their day off and enjoy themselves. The only one staying being was Kakashi of course, as there was no way he would let his lover be alone and work by himself.

"It would be a shame to not take advantage of this opportunity don't you think?" the blond asked with a coy playful little smile, as he rubbed the tip of his foot against the ANBU captain's leg before making it slowly ran up the length of it.

The older man's breath hitched when the teasing foot arrived very close to his groin, his eyes fogging up with lust. Suddenly, he stood up and closed the gap that was between him and his lover. Grabbing the back of his head, he violently pulled him into a passionate kiss to which the blond responded more than willingly to and with much enthusiasm. As the older man was ravishing the lips of his lover, his hands began travelling up and down the sides and the torso of the latter, caressing and groping everything he could. But soon it wasn't enough anymore.

"I believe you are wearing way too much clothes love." Kakashi said in an out of breath voice when they parted from each other's lips to take some much-needed air.

"Then do something about it." Naruto replied, a glint of lecherous challenge in his eyes as they lit the older man's whole body on fire under their heated gaze.

At this same moment, Haku was walking very fast into the hall of the Hokage's tower that was leading his dad's office, his face scrunched up in concern, as he seemed lost in his thoughts. He knew his father would be in the office as well as the two were working together and he needed to tell them as soon as possible what he had discovered. Soon he saw the door that led to the office just a few away from him and he quickened his pace. Once he arrived at the door, he reached for the handle and opened it with a bang noise at the force he used to do it.

"Dad, papa we have a prob…" the young man began animatedly but suddenly stopped when his eyes landed on the two persons he had come to see and widened in shock, his jaw slacking as if about to fall on the floor.

There in front of him was his dad lying half-naked on the desk, his hokage robe and his top discarded on the floor, with his father on top of him ravishing him. Both men seemed frozen as they had stopped moving when their son had suddenly entered the room. Naruto was looking at his shocked son with a look of pure horror and mortification, his face turning a deep shade of red. While Kakashi, who had had his face nuzzled into his lover's neck, had raised his head to look Haku with a look between embarrassment and slight annoyance at having had someone barged in while he was about to ravish his blond properly. But when he fully realized who it was at the door, the silver haired man pulled himself away from the blond as fast as possible, and both quickly began to dress themselves back while blabbering apologies while Haku was still frozen in shock at the sight he had just seen.

"I'm so so so sorry Haku that you had to see this! We should have made sure that the door was locked!" Naruto apologized once again while fighting to put his top back on as quickly as possible, but his head go stuck inside it in his hurry.

"You promised you wouldn't do that anymore!" the young man whined loudly as he finally snapped out of it and looked at his parents with an upset face, looking at them sternly.

"I know, I know and I'm really sorry." The blond said, finally sticking his head out into the right hole of his shirt, "I promise we will be much more careful next time."

Both Naruto and Kakashi continued for a while to apologize more to their son, while Haku continued to berate them about this kind of behavior in public places and how they should always make sure to not be walked on. Sheepish, the two grown men endured their son's scolding without complaining, knowing that they shouldn't have let themselves be caught in the moment and still feeling the embarrassment that went with being caught in this kind of situation.

"By the way," Naruto suddenly said, interrupting Haku's flustered rant as he thought about something, "Why did you barge into the office like this without even knocking?"

"Yeah, what happened to make you behave like that?" Kakashi asked, as he too realized that something very serious must have happened for their normally calm and composed son to be so excited.

At those two questions, the young man with short spiky red hair stopped his ranting. He actually looked a bit confused for a few seconds before his eyes shone, as he remembered the reason he had come here in the first place.

"Arame has a date with a guy of her team!" he quickly said in a rather loud voice, his face darkening a bit.

Kakashi and Naruto's face furrowed slightly at hearing this, the first one only having a curious expression on his face while the other was looking very displeased. For some reasons Naruto as well as Haku were very protective of Arame while Kakashi was rather laid back when it concerned his children, thinking that they had to experience life on their own and that he shouldn't interfere. Though he was torn with also wanting to protect his daughter, he also wanted her to live her own life and make her own mistakes. Whereas Naruto was a real mother hen with both of his children, and especially with Arame as she was the one who was always getting into trouble the most ever since an early age.

When she was a kid, she would always come back home with dirt and sometimes bruises or scratches on her after rough playing, or just beating some kids who tried making fun of her. She had always been a turbulent child who had never let herself be bullied or laughed at. Her status as the hokage's daughter had made people judge her more easily, but she never cared about people's opinion and continued to do as she pleased.

As for Haku, the young man had always been very protective of his little sister. Even though they were just a few seconds apart, you could definitely see who was the more mature of the two. And despite the fact that they each have a very character from one another, they still love and support each other. They would do anything for one another and used to be inseparable when they were kids, playing and protecting each other.

"What's his name?" Naruto asked, trying to stay calm and not judge too fast and not put the unknown kid into his enemy's list just yet.

"Watase Hareaki." Haku answered.

"That playboy brat whom every girl is in love with?" the blond man asked incredulously.

"That guy." The red haired young man confirmed with a nod.

"So that perverted male monster thinks he can add my precious baby girl to his hunting board huh? We'll see about that." The male hokage said, scowling darkly as his imagination went berserk, making him have a mental image of Arame in tears and calling for him as a demonic representation of a young man was walking up to her while cackling evilly, looking at her with maniac eyes, "When are they going out on a date?"

"Tonight." His son told him with a disapproving frown at the idea of his sister going on a date with this guy.

"Tonight?! But she had told us that she was going out with friends tonight!?" Naruto exclaimed with a sad rejected but also disappointed face for the fact that his daughter had lied to them, before determination appeared on it and he looked ready to go to war, "Well whether she likes or not, I'm not going to let my little girl go on her first date without any supervision.

With that said, the blond began to walk to the door in a determined pace.

"What are you going to do?" Kakashi asked, looking both confused and curious at his lover.

The blond turned around to look at the older man and his also curious son and smiled evilly at them.

This is how, twenty minutes later, Naruto, Kakashi and Haku were hiding behind a bush, with dark clothes that blended into the early afternoon scenery, at the place where Arame was supposed to meet up with this Watase guy in a few minutes.

"Tell me again how you convinced me to follow you in this stupid plan?" the silver haired man asked in a sigh, a deadpanned expression on his face before yelping lowly as he received a whack on the head from his lover.

"You didn't have to come if you didn't want to." The blond told him with a slight glare, "If the safety of your daughter doesn't matter to you, you can always go home."

"Love, you seem to forget who she was raised by and from whom she got her temper." The ANBU captain said while massaging his hurting head with a wince, "She is more than capable of defending herself."

But before the young hokage could reply anything, they suddenly saw Arame arrive at the meeting place, which was the front of the dango shop. Not long after, a handsome young man with dark hair and green eyes arrived, giving the young kunoichi a charming smile as he said 'hi' to her.

"Tch! Arrogant little bastard! He thinks he is so charming that she is going to fall for him like that." Naruto said, gritting his teeth as he glared at the young man who was flirting with his daughter.

"Where do you think they will go first?" Haku asked, studying the couple intensely as if trying to analyze their moves.

"I don't know but they better not go anywhere dark where this slimy pervert will try to fondle her." The blond man said in a growl.

Haku's face turned a sick green for a moment at imagining anyone doing anything with his sister, before it darkened and he nodded determinedly at his father, looking like he was ready to rip the guy's arms out if he even dared touch his sister inappropriately.

The three of them then began following from afar the couple, when the latter began to move, walking at a leisured pace in the street. Soon they arrived in front of what looked to be a café, the shop front having a sign with its name written in a stylish style with little red hearts all around, looking very trendy.

"That's a couple's café." Haku commented with a slight gasp, looking in wonder at the place that his twin sister and her date had just entered.

"That's it I'm going in! I'm not going to let the two of them alone in such a place!" Naruto exclaimed standing up from the bush, intent on stepping out of it and going inside the café.

But before he could do it, Haku rushed to him and held him back with the help of his father.

"Don't do that dad or we'll blow our cover!" the short spiky red haired young man told him, pulling him back to the bush.

"I don't care! Kami only knows what they could be doing in there!" the blond replied in agitation.

"Naruto, it's a café. Nothing outrageous can happen in there. They are only going to get something to eat." Kakashi said, reasoning his overreacting lover.

"Fine. But we wait for them to come out." Naruto said with a stubborn glare.

An hour later, the couple came out of the café. As they walked into the street, the guy softly caught Arame's hand in his and waited for her reaction. The young woman seemed surprised at first and looked down at their hands before looking up at the young man with a light blush, before linking their fingers together.

Naruto immediately saw red at this scene. He went to once again step out of their hiding place in the intent to go beat the young man into a pulp. But Kakashi, who tried to calm him down by reasoning him that he couldn't kill him even if he was the hokage, restrained him and managed to calm him down.

The three men then resumed their tailing, following the couple to all the places they went, always keeping a safe distance to them and hiding so that they could not be seen. The rest of the date went well, and without too many tries from Naruto's side to interrupt. It was late afternoon when the young man named Watase walked Arame back home. When they arrived at the front porch, they turned to face each other. However, while it was clear that Arame was just going to say goodbye and go into the house, Watase grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him as if he was going to kiss her.

At seeing his daughter being handled like that, it was Kakashi's time to see red as well, his murdering intent growing stronger by the second. To hell with letting his children living their life and making their own mistakes! He was going to bash that scum's face into the ground. Then, as Naruto was being restrained from going to personally kill the young pervert by a struggling Haku, the silver haired man stepped out of their hiding spot with a clear intent to harm, if not fatally, the brat who dared touch his little girl.

But before he intervened or did anything, Arame suddenly punched the young man hard in the face, sending him flying a meter or two away from her.

"What do you think you're doing teme!?" she yelled at him, visibly mad at him as she glared dangerously at him, "Did you think I was an easy girl? You don't grab someone like that and try to kiss them without their permission!"

"I huh…I'm sorry." The young man said, looking dumbfounded and slightly scared as he looked at the angry young woman.

Then the two young people noticed that someone else was here and turned their head to see Kakashi standing there in the middle of the path, looking a little dazed as if he didn't really know what to do. He had walked out of the bushes with the intention to teach the young man a lesson, but had been taken aback when his daughter had taken the matter into her own hands. What was he supposed to do now? Then his eyes landed on Watase, the young man still on the floor after the punch he had received, and they narrowed and hardened instantly as he remembered what he had just dared to do.

The latter shrunk on himself immediately as he received the look from the ANBU captain, and quickly stood up, muttering once again an apology to Arame and saying goodbye before taking off as fast as possible.

Once this Watase guy was gone, Kakashi turned back to his daughter with one of his over cheerful smile. But his smile fell immediately when he saw the angry face of his daughter, gulping in apprehension, as he knew what that mad look meant. He was in trouble.

Arame began to slowly walk toward him, stopping when she was just two feet away from her father, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him with a severe look on her face.

"Papa, what are you doing here?" she asked in a voice where you could hear she was restraining to shout.

"I-I huh…I…" the silver haired man stuttered at a loss for words to explain to his daughter why he was there.

But before he could say anything, the young woman turned to the spot where Naruto and Haku were still hidden.

"Come on guys, I know you are there as well so get out." She told them.

After this, the two got out of their of their hiding place with a sheepish expression on their face.

"H-hey darling!" Naruto exclaimed jovially, trying to sound cheerful to try and alleviate the oppressing mood that was planning in the air, a nervous wide smile on his face.

"Care to explain what you are doing here?" the young kunoichi asked, sounding like she was trying really hard to stay calm.

"Hum huh…training?" the blond man proposed, his eyes gleaming hopefully as he prayed that his daughter would buy that poorly made lie.

"You were spying on me weren't you?" Arame asked rhetorically, her eyebrows rising slightly as she looked sternly at her parents and her twin brother, who all looked down in slight shame when she said that.

"Yes." The three other persons admitted sheepishly, not looking at the young woman into the eyes and looking at the ground like it was just the most interesting thing in the world.

"How did you know about my date?" she asked, inhaling deeply to try and stay calm.

"Haku." Both Naruto and Kakashi replied quickly in unison, making the young man turn to look at them with wide eyes and his mouth agape at having been betrayed like that.

"Haku," she said in a dangerous voice as she turned to her twin, "Would you care to tell me how you learned that I had a date?"

"I overheard when you talked about your upcoming date." The red haired young man mumbled, kicking the dirt absentmindedly.

'Huh oh…here we go…' Kakashi thought in dread, knowing that since his daughter had inherited the famous Uzumaki temper, she would soon explode at them.

"And so after that you decided to go tell dad and papa about it huh?" she asked rhetorically, her eyes narrowing dangerously while you could hear the tension as well as the anger in her voice rising, then she suddenly snapped and began yelling, "You've got to be freaking kidding me! How could you do this to me?!"

"And you!" she turned suddenly toward her fathers furiously, the latter backing up and flinching under the mad tone of their daughter, "Did it ever occur to you that whether I dated someone or not didn't concern you? This is my life! I am old enough to take care of myself and handle things on my own!"

While the young kunoichi yelled at them, the three male endured it with sheepish and guilty faces, letting her shout at them to her heart's content for a while. Then at some point, Naruto decided to take his courage in both hands and to speak up for the first time in the last 10 to 15 minutes of furious screaming from his daughter.

"Hum honey?" he said in a soft hesitating voice, stepping up slightly after having his all courage.

"What!?" she asked in mid-yell, as she turned to him with a hard stare.

"Hum well I just wanted to say that we are very sorry that we acted like this. This was very wrong of us and what we could do is go to the restaurant before everyone else arrive, sit and have sweet treat as a way to apologize." The blond man proposed in slightly nervous voice, looking at his daughter hoping that she would accept the peace offering, "What do you think?"

The young woman looked at him for a moment before sighing slightly in annoyed surrender.

"All right, but you better give me a very good explanation." She told them.

"Thank you." Naruto said, exhaling in a relieved manner, like he had been holding his breath, putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder as he said with a smile, "Let's go then."

The two remaining male sighed in relief. When Arame went on a rampage, you didn't want to be around. While Haku had inherited the Hatake's calm and laid back character, she had inherited the Uzumaki's fiery and temperamental attitude.

Of course they felt a bit guilty for having spied on her like this but they felt that it was partly her fault as well. After all, she should have told them about the fact that she had a date. What if something had happened to her? They wouldn't have known where she was or what she had been doing. Sure she had the right to have privacy, but it didn't mean she could not tell Naruto and Kakashi about where and what she was doing.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, they went to sit in a secluded booth, away from everybody. A waitress came and took their order. After that their drinks and treats had arrived, Naruto and Kakashi, who were sitting on one side of the booth, looked at their children and more specifically to their daughter. Arame was sulkily turning her spoon around in the strawberry milkshake she had ordered, not talking to anyone. While his twin sister looked sullen, Haku was sitting next to her looking uncomfortable.

"Arame, I am sorry that we invaded your private life." Kakashi told her in a soothing tone of voice.

"It's true we shouldn't have." Naruto added in, agreeing with his lover, "We are truly sorry to have followed you like that. We know that you are a big girl and that you can deal with things on your own But you have to understand that we are your parents and that we will always worry about you."

"Whatever." The long silver blond haired girl muttered before she took a sip out of her milkshake.

And this is how it went for the next 20 minutes. Naruto and Kakashi would apologize profusely to her and try to make her forgive them, while Arame would listen to them from one ear.

However, though she had a hard time wanting to admit it, the young kunoichi began to feel less and less mad at her parents and began to actually listen to their apologies. After some more talk and 'cooing', the young woman spoke up for the first time in the last half hour.

"Alright, alright I'll forgive you but on one condition." She told them, "You never stalk me ever again on any kind of situation."

"Deal." Naruto replied, bumping his fist with her to seal the thing before Kakashi did the same by clapping his hand with hers.

But before they could say anything else, a loud voice that they all knew made itself known.

"Ah there you are guys! I thought we had arrived too early." Deidara said as he walked up to the four people, Kisame and Itachi coming right after him.

"Dei! How are you doing?" Naruto asked with a grin as he jumped out of his to go greet his friend.

"Good and you?" the blond former Akatsuki replied, high fiving the other blond.

While the two blonds were visiting, Kisame and Itachi walked up to Kakashi, who had also stood up to go greet them.

"Hello Kakashi. How have you been?" Itachi asked, shaking the ANBU captain's hand.

"I've been well thank you. How are the two of you doing?" the silver haired man said with a smile.

"We've been good. Although Kisame is being a bit annoying and bitchy about the wedding." The Uchiha replied in an annoyed tone of voice as he talked about his fiancé.

Kisame and Itachi had gotten engaged last New Year's Eve, where the swordsman had decided to propose to the long dark haired man when the clock stroke twelve. Surprisingly or more accurately shockingly to the others, who had been present at that time, the Uchiha had showed an extreme excitement at this and had glomped his lover while saying the much awaited yes. Now, as they got engaged on New Year's Eve, they had planned a New Year's Eve wedding as well, which was now in just a few days.

"This is the most important day of our lives, it needs to be perfect!" the shark like man protested with a pout.

"Hn." Itachi grunted in response, his lover looking at him with a slightly annoyed glare at his detached attitude toward their upcoming wedding.

"Hey little monkey." Kisame then said as he approached Arame, fondly ruffling her hair, which earned him an indignant protest from the latter.

"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed in a whining voice, glaring half-heartedly to the shark like man.

"What?" the swordsman replied with a mocking grin, shoving her playfully, "You'll always be the little monkey that used to jump and crawl everywhere to me."

"Hmph! Whatever." She said, shoving him playfully back.

"So, ready to party?" Kisame asked, looking at both Arame and Haku with a big smile, giving them a wink.

"Hum you know it's not really a party, it's more a day to remember." Haku commented.

"So what?" the shark like man replied grinning cockily, "We kicked his butt and now we are celebrating every year his defeat. That's what I call a party."

As all of them chatted and joked around, the others begun to arrive and joined them. Nagato and Konan were one of the last ones to come.

"Hey guys!" the blue haired young woman said as she made her way to them, happily waving at them while her fiancé followed her not far behind, "Sorry to be late."

"Konan not so fast! Be more careful!" the red haired man protested as he followed her nervously.

"Nagato, I'm pregnant not made out of glass!" she replied rolling her eyes annoyed.

As soon as he had learned that his girlfriend was pregnant, being the old fashioned type of guy, Nagato had proposed to her just a few days later. Thrilled the blue haired woman had accepted without hesitating. They were planning a Spring wedding around the Hanami season. Ever since, the newly engaged couple was doing everything to prepare the arrival of their child.

"How is your pregnancy going?" Naruto asked sympathetically.

"It's going well." Konan said with a smile, softly caressing her now slightly showing stomach, adding in a joking manner, "Though my feet are so swollen I feel like they have been filled with cement or something."

"Hello everyone! We're here!" the as usual boisterous voice of Kiba suddenly yelled as he and his newly husband Neji arrived, followed not far by Hinata with Sakura, and Shino with Tenten.

"Yo! What's up guys?!" Deidara asked as he happily walked up to them, high fiving Sakura and Kiba.

As everyone was visiting with each other, Kakashi and Naruto decided to get a little away from the others, and looked at their friends and family having fun and joking together. Kakashi was sitting on a chair while Naruto sat on his lap, with his lover's arms wrapped around him.

"Did you think we would be where we are 15 years ago?" Naruto asked his older lover, as he relished with a happy sigh into the feel of the man's strong arms, burying further into the hard chest of the other.

"No." Kakashi replied with a light amused smile, "I would never have believed you if you had told me that this would be our life back in that time."

"I know." The blond man said with a chuckle, "I can't believe how fast time has passed and everything that has happened. I mean, one day we had cute little kids who used to always squeal "daddy" and "papa" over and over. And then, the next day they have become those stubborn monsters who don't listen to anything we say."

"Yeah. That's what it means being a teenager." The silver haired man commented, poking teasingly his lover into the ribs, "You have also been like that at their age."

"No I wasn't!" the male hokage protested with a pout, "I was a model of virtue and good manners!"

"Sure…whatever you say love." The ANBU captain said with an amused chuckle, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his lover's head.

"You two really still act like two kids together huh?" Inari asked rhetorically, a smirk on her face as she walked up to the couple, Genma not far behind her, "When are you going to act like the grown ups you are?"

"Never!" Naruto replied with a cheeky smirk, pulling his tongue at the nurse, which made the latter grin at his childish reply.

"Mommy, daddy! Look at what I can do!" a little girl with hazelnut hair yelled excitedly as she ran into Inari, grabbing onto her leg.

Then the little girl began to place her tongue before her lower teeth and after a few tries began to whistle.

"That's very good Isoko!" the nurse cooed in approval at her before asking, "Who taught you that?"

Isoko was the girl that Inari and Genma had had together 10 years ago, after Genma and her had decided to get married. Naruto and Kakashi had been made honorary godfathers and had always made sure to be there for every important event in the little girl's life. Their children loved her too and liked to spend some time with her every now and then, Arame having been the little girl's babysitter when she had been younger. Now, Isoko wanted to become a ninja and learn about medical jutsus to the happiness and pride of both of her parents.

"Kisame-nii did!" Isoko said with a big toothy smile.

"Well then go practice with him so that you become even better at it, won't you? Your daddy and I have to speak with Kakashi and Naruto-ojisan. " Her mother told her, caressing her cheek gently.

"Okay!" the little girl replied before skipping back to where Kisame, and the rest of the crowd were.

"Did you have something important to talk to us about Inari-neesan?" Naruto asked curious.

"Not exactly. It's more like a request." The nurse said.

"Sure, what is it?" the blond man asked.

"Well since things are going so well right now in the shinobi world, I was wondering if you would see an inconvenient that me and Genma retire." She explained to him, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Well you are free to do anything you want Inari-neesan as I am not in charge of the hospital. As for Genma, I see no problem with him leaving though that means that we are losing a great shinobi but…you are still both in great health and you still have a lot of years ahead of you. Why do you want to retire now?" he asked confused.

This time it was Genma who answered.

"We would like to spend more time with Isoko and take more care of her. I know she understands and doesn't mind that we are not always there for her but we really want to be more present in her life." The senbon chewer said, "Moreover, we would like to travel a bit and see the world other than when on missions."

"I understand." The male hokage said with a nod, registering in his mind everything he had heard.

"But we do not want to separate ourselves completely from the village either. So if there is ever a need for help, we will be glad to come back and support you." Genma added with a smile, "Our loyalty will always lay with Konoha."

"That's very kind of you." Naruto said with a smile of his own, shaking Genma's hand and giving Inari a hug, "Though I hope we will never have to call you for help."

After that the two couples walked back to the rest of the crowd, eating and having fun with each other. They ate and chatted for a few hours before people began to leave, deciding that it was time for them to go home. Soon, Naruto and Kakashi decided that it was time for them as well to go and left with Haku and Arame along with them.

"Ah finally home!" Arame exclaimed with a relieved sigh, once they arrived at the house, brushing her long silky silver hair back, "I'm so tired. I'm going to go to my room and sleep. Goodnight everybody."

"Not so fast young lady." Naruto quickly said with his arms crossed over his chest, making his daughter stop in mid-step in the stairs, looking at her with a stern expression, "You are not going anywhere before your father and I have decided of your punition for having lied to us."

"What?!" she exclaimed astonished, "I didn't lie to you!"

"Oh yes you did. You told us that you were going out with friends. And even if we didn't have the right to follow you like we did, you still need to be punished for having lied to us about what you were really going to do." The blond man replied severely.

"Your dad is right. You lied to us and that is not tolerable. Anything could have happened to you, and we wouldn't have been able to help if that had been the case, because we wouldn't have known where you were." Kakashi added in support of his lover's words.

"But papa!" the young woman protested, trying to sound whiny and giving her father a cute sad face.

"Oh no don't give me that face! I know that face!" the silver haired man said pointing at her accusingly before turning to the younger man with a pitiful face, "Baby she is giving me that face!"

Sighing at his older lover's weakness for Arame's sad puppy dog's face, Naruto decided to take the matter into his own hands. He turned to his daughter and looked at her with a hard face that accepted no discussion.

"You are grounded until decided otherwise." He told her sternly, "Which means that you are not allowed to go out except for missions. To ensure that, your house-chores will be doubled, and if you don't do them there will be some very serious consequences missy."

The long silver blonde haired young woman opened and closed her mouth several times, before her face just got red in anger and stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her. Sighing at his daughter's usual temper, Naruto turned then to Haku who had stayed silent the whole time, looking slightly guilty to have sold his twin sister out.

"You don't have to feel guilty for having come to tell us the truth Haku. You did the right thing." The blond man told his son, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure Arame is not angry with you for it…well she might be but she needs to realize that what she did was wrong and that you were just worried for her."

"Yeah I guess." The spiky red haired young man said with a sigh, looking down at the ground gnawing on his bottom lip.

"Well goodnight my baby." Naruto said, kissing his son on the top of his head.

"Daddy! Don't call me that!" Haku whined at being called this.

"What? That's true! I'll always see you as my baby." The blond man replied with an amused wink, giving him a teasing one-armed hug, "Even when you get married and have kids."

Once their son was in his bedroom, Kakashi and Naruto went to sit on the couch for a moment, just enjoying the peace and quiet that had become so precious to them.

"Am I too strict? Do you think I overreacted to this whole situation?" the male hokage asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

"No you're not." The ANBU captain told him reassuringly, adding in a joking manner, "The overreaction would have been to lock her up in a tower and never let her get out of there until she is 30."

The blond laughed at this and leaned against his older lover, purring slightly when the other began petting his hair like he always did.

"Maybe we are too strict sometimes don't you think? They might hate us for that someday." He said contemplatively.

"We are parents, of course we are strict." The other man replied, still petting his younger lover's hair, adding in an amused smile, "We are not supposed to be nice. Being nice is the role of the grandparents and the rest of the family. We, parents, are supposed to be tyrants."

Naruto smiled at this, chuckling slightly at the image of him and Kakashi dressed as dictators.

"That's true." He said with a smirk, before turning around to face his older lover, "So captain Hatake, should we proceed to go to the bedroom and make plans on how to further torture our kids?"

"Actually sir, I had other plans for us tonight, which included a full body search as well as other very kinky things." The silver haired man replied with a coy smile, leaning in to catch his lover's lips into a sweet yet teasing kiss.

They kissed like for a few seconds until they were in dire need for air. When they parted, Naruto looked at the older man with a gaze full of lust, his lids heavy on his eyes and his breathing erratic. Then a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"I'm all yours." He told him in such a sultry way, that Kakashi felt something into his stomach at the arousing sentence.

Swooping his younger lover off of his feet, the ANBU captain began to walk up to their bedroom.

"It's a good thing that we have made our bedroom soundproof or I think that the children would be scarred to life after what I'm going to do to you tonight." He said huskily, grabbing and squeezing the blond man's still pert and firm buttocks, making the latter squeak slightly in surprise before quickly putting a hand over his mouth and glaring slightly at him.

"You better not forget to put protection on, or I am going to make you regret it for the rest of your life if you make me pregnant again." The blond threatened in a slight growl, grabbing his lover by the back of his head and kissing him hard on the lips in a passionate kiss.

They kissed like that all the way up, Kakashi opening and closing their bedroom door behind them without ever letting go of the other man. They loved and made a mess of each other all night until dawn began to appear. They might have been parents, friends and family members. But they were first and foremost two men who loved each other and couldn't live without one another, and this was how it would always be.

_The End_


End file.
